Can't jump on the Gravity bandwagon for this one

Rating: 6/10 (12 October 2013)

From the first trailer for the film I thought it looked intriguing, though the trailers never provided much information. You could guess at the concept and most guesses would be accurate. Its a survival/disaster story set in space with astronauts and no hint of science fiction whatsoever. I was a little surprised that suddenly the film exploded with huge ratings and huge box office returns. So because of that my expectations were high and I was prepared to potentially see a 10/10 film. I didn't hate this movie...do not get me wrong. It was entertaining and had some really nail biting moments. Visually it was good. But couldn't anyone make a visually stunning film with the backdrop of space looking down on earth. My biggest issue with the film is how unrealistic it felt. I am not a scientist and I know nothing about space travel but do I need to in order to know that NASA would not be sending up someone who is emotionally and physically unprepared and watching Bullock's character is sometimes laughable and that is unfortunate. I know I'm not the only one because other reviewers on IMDb have pointed out the exact things that bothered me. She makes poor decisions, completely unrealistic moves and generally is unbelievable in the role.
I don't blame Sandra Bullock as an actress because she is a great actress. In fact what I say doesn't matter because this film is raking in money and likely to get Oscar nominations (a travesty and a joke in my opinion.) Bullock's character is empty and depressing. The addition of her talking about losing her daughter is pointless and forced on you to try and get an emotional reaction and it doesn't work at all. She shows her emotions well when she is in danger but the character is weakly written and you never truly get attached to her in any way. George Clooney is mostly there as another star-power name. He does alright but once again his character does not fit the film. His sarcasm, and humour stands out and is ridiculous at times. The chemistry between him and Bullock could be great but the script does nothing to give them that opportunity. Neither one are riveting and worst of all neither of them are even remotely believable as astronauts. Clooney is supposed to be the seasoned veteran and he's training Bullock out in space...I am almost certain that she would never even remotely leave earth without being 1000% trained. As other reviewers pointed out...Bullock consults training manuals in various languages and then resorts to playing eenie meenie miney moe on a spacecraft trying to get it to fly. Are you serious? How can anyone stomach that and accept it.
Alfonso Cuarón has apparently built a very solid fan base. Children of Men was almost brilliant and Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix was phenomenal. However, I feel like he is one of those film makers that lets stories slide in order to impress us visually or artistically. Children of Men and Gravity are shining examples of this. Cuarón turns Gravity completely bizarre by forcing in absolutely ridiculous art-house scenes (Bullock's ridiculous fetal floating scene, and the end scene of her standing and being shot as though she is about to scream "I AM WOMAN.") What is he trying to do with this? Its irritating because this could have been a terrific disaster, survival flick and he tried to do more with it than it deserved. One of the things I loved about the film was the lack of sound in space. While it certainly reduces the impact of the shattering space stations it is more realistic and really disturbing to see all that debris and destruction but to hear nothing. As many of you who read my reviews may know, I am NOT a 3D fan. It doesn't bother me but it does nothing to increase the value of a film. I thought Gravity might be the exception to that and it wasn't. There was nothing in this film made more impressive by 3D and that's just a real shame. It sounds like I've really trashed on this movie and I have but I was just so blown away by how much everyone loves this movie and how it mostly let me down. It wasn't terrible and it was reasonably entertaining but I would never go out of my way to watch it again. It was a sub-par and rushed project that Cuarón unapologetically ignores a tight script or research. You will watch this regardless and chances are you will love it because its the mass opinion right now but I have to say how I feel and this one for me was a pass. 6/10