The director Cuaron must have been born under a lucky star

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2013)

I've read both Angelina Jolie and Natalie Portman were ready to play Sandra Bullock's part. Neither would have reached the delightful heights Ms. Bullock does. Trust me, out of the three she is far and away the best choice; halfway through this arresting movie I was thinking how completely perfect the casting was, and that casting is of Clooney and Bullock. Apparently this movie was blessed from the beginning in being able to land the one star who was capable of lifting this movie way beyond even its lofty ambitions.
The idea of bringing a story like this to the screen is a completely reckless one. There are so many obviously impossible shots in this story only a madman would have agreed to tackle it. And yet it works. From the moment it started I was physically engaged in the action. For once, it paid to watch it in Imax and 3-D, but I'm not sure the movie's impact would have suffered if I watched it low tech.
The story is a simple one of survival in space. But that's enough to make it utterly unforgettable in the way only the best basic science-fiction used to pull off when I was a kid. There are leaps of logic here, but you won't mind them, if you have any heart.