A sublime Sandra Bullock is lost in space.

Rating: Null/10 (12 November 2013)

A force, such as gravity, pulls the object into a curved path as it attempts to fly off in a straight line.
Thus a small object in space will orbit a large one.
This 91 minute, Warner Brothers film, rated 12A in the UK, tells the story of a small object, like a space-station, or to be more precise, a very small speck of an astronaut, played by Sandra Bullock, in orbit around the relatively very large Earth.
Space is big, and in this vast Universe there are planets and stars, with a lot of space in between. This space is a void, a vast nothing.
Film opens in space above Earth. At first we hear nothing and see nothing. Then a faint communication is heard which gradually gets louder. We see a small speck get gradually larger. It is a spacecraft and astronauts are working on it as it orbits high up above the Earth.
Sandra Bullock plays one astronaut, George Clooney plays another. Mr Clooney's astronaut is an experienced veteran. Miss Bullock's astronaut, by contrast is a rookie. Both are engaged in a spacewalk. Mr Clooney is enjoying his time in space however mission-control are worried about Miss Bullock performing her allotted task without getting sick.
Those viewers who experienced the shaky camera of the recent 'Captain Phillips', will be glad to know that this film is completely different from that. You, and I, and Sandra Bullock, may have no idea of what is up, and down, but only mission-control will worry about sickness in this film. Viewers while experiencing a realistic representation of weightlessness in space, in this film, will not find it filmed in such a way as to make them queasy.
In the vastness of space around Earth, mission-control detects a collision between two other space-craft. This sets off some sort of localized intergalactic bar-billiards game. Broken bits of spacecraft are now heading towards our astronauts who are now in deadly danger. Film shows realistically the danger presented by these fast travelling objects. All are in orbit, and in the void of space, there is no gravity or atmosphere between the objects and anything they may hit. Collisions in space, in Star Trek, or similar films, have been done before, but this film shows the danger in a realistic way, that other films have failed to capture before.
When the collisions occur, they are catastrophic. Astronaut Bullock loses her tether and floats off, spinning out of control, into space, alone, and with a finite amount of oxygen.
It has been said that Miss Bullock spent a lot of time preparing for this role. She certainly conveys to us viewers the problems of weightlessness in space. As well as objects hurtling through the void of space, we also get a good representation of the problems of inertia. Propulsion gets you moving in relation to other objects, but how do you stop? There are lots of bone-crunching collisions, attempts to catch and get a hold of objects are all well portrayed. All of this while hurtling through the void of space, orbiting above Earth.
George Clooney is perfect in the supporting role but Sandra Bullock is the real star of this film. The film is clearly a Bullock vehicle but this space vehicle had to be very good. It is. Actress Bullock has been given a tremendous space vehicle. Astronaut Bullock could only wish she had such a space vehicle.
Great as this film is, Sandra Bullock has to carry it, for it to succeed, and carries it, she does, with a truly sublime performance. Miss Bullock has graced the silver-screen for many years now with great performances in rom-coms. Her everyday girlish charms have contributed to some of the greatest examples of the rom-com genre. There has never been any doubt that she can do light, but what about the meatier, more serious, stuff? Earlier this year, Miss Bullock appeared in the surprisingly gritty 'The Heat' female buddy-cop action-comedy. Here though she goes much further, this is her film, a true action film that is exciting, scary and tense. It is a tour-de-force.
Film has some shocks, surprises and twists. It is also tense and emotional. You may find it useful to carry a hanky.
This 91 minute film reminds us of the earlier Warner Brother films of yester-year. From start to finish there is not a single wasted scene.
The harshest of critics of 3D films has said that this film should be viewed in the 3D format. This reviewer followed that advice and was richly rewarded for paying the extra. Some cinemas give out, and collect back in, the 3D glasses. Mine did not. Instead of paying my usual UK£7.50p, I paid £9.60p plus another 80p for the glasses. I saw a great film and get to keep my Sandra Bullock 3D glasses for ever! Before the film I endured some poor 3D film previews. They did not look good but rather unreal. No problem with this film though. The 3D effect really helped in immersing into the film. However it was all the little details that made this film. Watch as the smallest of things float about into your vision and grow bigger and bigger as they approach you. Again it is the details of these smallest of things that complete the effect of putting you in space with Miss Bullock. Weightlessness makes everything float about, and boy does it! Knowing that we are not in space, we are so immersed in this film that we feel that we are. Even get into the head of Miss Bullock as the camera gives a POV from inside her helmet!
Be it breathless, or breath-taking, Sandra Bullock delivers a truly, truly, sublime performance. This is film-making at it's very, very, best. This really is a must see 3D, and must see, film. 10/10.