Now that's what I call Entertainment

Rating: Null/10 (10 November 2013)

The title is telling. Set in orbit around the Earth, there is virtually no gravity here but, thanks to a freak accident, very soon the gravity of the situation becomes terrifying. Gravity and oxygen are not the only things in short supply in this film: there are only two characters (played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) and in consequence not a lot of dialogue but, if there is a paucity of words, there is almost an excess of wonder and drama in this terrific movie from Mexican director Alfonso Cuardon ("Pan's Labyrinth").
Although years in the making, Cuardon - who also co-wrote the script with his son - does not waste time with scene-setting or character exposition on Earth. Immediately we are suspended in space, marvelling at the silence and gloriousness of it all. At the other end of the story, Cuardon does not bother with Hollywood-style codas to lighten the mood - "Gravity" ends exactly when it should. In between, there is never a moment when you are not captivated by what is happening on screen. And, for once, a blockbuster does not overrun its time, coming in at just an hour and a half.
Bullock and Clooney are excellent in portrayal of very different characters who will live or die by the other's decisions. She is Ryan Stone, the mission specialist with no previous time in space who becomes fear personified. He is Matt Kowalski, the space veteran on his last mission who never loses his charm or cool. The crisis they face is so predictable - if, hopefully, unlikely - that it has a name in the scientific community community (the Kessler syndrome).
For movie fan like me, there are so many allusions to earlier films: the floating majesty of the opening scene recalls the first view of space in "2001"; when the astronauts are warned by Houston mission control of the impending danger, the voice is that of Ed Harris from "Apollo 13"; when Bullock takes off her bulky space suit, we are inevitably reminded of Sigourney Weaver at the end of "Alien".
I saw "Gravity" at London's newest multiplex - Cineworld at Wembly's London Designer Outlet - and I opted to view in 3D (which i normally avoid) and D-BOX (which I have never experienced before). I can't say that the tilting seat added that much to the enjoyment of the movie, but the 3D was terrific. Not since "Avatar" have I felt that the extra dimension worked so well. I really felt as if I was in space and there is an especially moving moment involving a single tear. Some of the science may be suspect, but the brilliant special effects made it all too real for me.