As vacuous as space itself

Rating: 2/10 (22 September 2015)

I know this flick is classified as science fiction, but as it is not set in the future and clearly refers to real, present-day entities (NASA, the ISS, Soyuz...) I couldn't watch this as a sci-fi movie. If you know anything about manned space flight and care just a little bit about plausibility and real-life physics, you will be disappointed.
As many people have pointed out in the goofs section, a lot of the movie is incorrect and implausible, starting from the main character's background and training to orbital physics, to idiotic plot twists. I face-palmed so many times while watching this, my forehead still hurts.
Factuality aside, the script doesn't make up for it. On the contrary, it is littered with clichés and platitudes to such a degree that it is embarrassing. While the protagonists stumble from one cringe moment to the next, drama unfolds in the most predictable ways. I could invariably foretell the next 5 minutes at any point, and as such the story is utterly boring and left me completely disengaged. I could not have cared less about the fate of Bullock's character, I even was slightly disappointed she made it out alive against all odds (and no, this isn't a spoiler - this outcome has been telegraphed throughout the film). The acting by both Clooney and Bullock is uneventful and (especially in Bullock's case) sometimes downright pathetic - probably aided by idiotic dialogue written by clueless imbeciles.
The only 2 positive notions are the sometimes grand visuals (but not as spectacular if you've ever seen real imagery shot from the ISS) and the short run-time (I liked this fact a lot - it somewhat reduces your suffering).
My tip - watch some real, grand sci-fi instead, like 2001, Dune, the Fifth Element or such - you know, a movie with good story, engaging characters and nice pacing and effects.