Gravity 3D Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Perilous Sequences, Some Disturbing Images and Brief Strong Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 30 Minutes

Cast-

Sandra Bullock-Dr. Ryan Stone

George Clooney-Matt Kowalski

Ed Harris (voice)-Mission Control

Orto Ignatiussen (voice)-Aningaaq

Phaldut Sharma (voice)-Shariff

Amy Warren (voice)-Explorer Captain

Basher Savage (voice)-Russian Space Station Captain

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

Sandra Bullock delivers a career-best performance in Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi masterpiece, "Gravity."

Note: At Regal E-Walk Stadium 13.

A person's greatest fear is to die alone. There are over 7 billion people on the planet but despite the rich complexity of our lives, the sum total of all our experiences will be nothing more than an infinitesimal footnote when cast against the cold, unending void of the cosmos. When we are gone, who will remember us? Mourn us? We are alone in the universe yet one thing remains certain: our lives are only worth living if we are willing to fight for it. Hollywood has made excellent films year in and year out but Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity" easily trumps them all. Not since 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey" has the experience of watching a film been this transformative. An unrelenting, revolutionary picture filled with breathtaking visual effects and immersive sound design, "Gravity" is a large-scale yet emotionally intimate tale of survival that powerfully reaffirms cinema as a transcendental art form. A thrilling technical marvel that is completely unmatched by its modern peers, Cuarón's film doesn't just rank as one of 2013's best but is also without a doubt a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece.

NASA bio-medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her first voyage to space, where she diligently works to install a new scanning system on the Hubble Space Telescope while veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) supervises. Set to retire after the mission's completion, Kowalski is enjoying the view as he zips around on his thruster pack, regaling his fellow astronauts and Mission Control (voice of Ed Harris) with cheesy jokes and reheated stories of his earthbound revelry. However, disaster strikes when a Russian satellite suddenly self-destructs, sending a storm of debris hurtling toward the telescope. The Space Shuttle Explorer is destroyed and the crew is instantly killed, with Stone separating from Kowalski in the ensuing chaos and flung into space. Unable to communicate with Mission Control and facing a dwindling oxygen supply, Stone is forced to rely on her own limited training if she is to survive and return home.

Against a black screen, the following words appear: 'At 600 km above planet Earth, the temperature fluctuates between +258 and -148 degrees Fahrenheit. There is nothing to carry sound. No air pressure. No oxygen. LIFE IN SPACE IS IMPOSSIBLE.' That last line is written to almost sound like a threat before the words disappear and we are treated to an image of our planet, looking peaceful and serene while it floats in the cold, empty void of space. Silence slowly gives way to indistinct radio chatter. A spot appears off to the right of the screen, along the orbital plane of the planet but it is too small to discern what it is at first. Closer it moves until the spot finally reveals itself to be an American space shuttle docked at the Hubble Space Telescope, with a small group of astronauts hovering just outside. All this is shown in the first fifteen minutes in a single, unbroken shot from Cuarón. It's an incredibly immersive moment, so beautiful and breathtaking in its majesty but what makes it so effective is the feeling it creates within the viewer. Cuarón has crafted a cinematic experience unlike any other and the level of verisimilitude he displays is virtually unmatched.

"Gravity" is a film that you have to see on the biggest screen possible (preferably IMAX) and in 3D because it loses much, if not all, of its power if viewed in conventional 2D. Hands down, this is the best 3D film since 2009's "Avatar" and last year's "Life of Pi." Too often, Hollywood has abused and wasted the technology as a gimmick to inflate their coffers but Cuarón proves how transformative the experience is when the extra dimension is applied with vision and purpose. The 3D and photorealistic CGI are all used in service to the story and to make you believe that you are in space, floating alongside Stone and Kowalski. Every image from cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki is gorgeously realized and the sound design is on a whole other scale. To keep it as realistic as possible, Cuarón takes a page out of Stanley Kubrick's playbook by eliminating all sound in space, creating a much more terrifying atmosphere as destruction silently fills the screen, with only the whimpers and heavy breathing of our heroine to comfort us. Steven Price's throbbing score is a work of art on its own and perfectly complements the film. The 3D, the CGI, the cinematography, the sound, and the music all combine to create a sensory experience that is as immersive as it is innovative. Cuarón has set the technology bar that much higher.

What of the story in "Gravity"? It's a simple tale of survival but this description fails to do justice to the nuance in Cuarón's script (which was co-written with his son Jonás). The opening of the film finds Dr. Ryan Stone struggling to adjust to the zero-g environment of space while she installs a new scanning system on the Hubble Space Telescope, completely oblivious to the beauty surrounding her. Nearby, veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski is enjoying his last tour of duty before he retires while joking that he has a 'bad feeling' about the mission. His words prove to be prophetic when a wave of debris from a self-destructed Russian satellite strikes the telescope and sends Stone tumbling wildly off into outer space. It's an absolutely harrowing scene to watch as Cuarón's camera alternates between a first-person and a third-person view that slowly zooms in on Stone's eyes, which are caught in a state of unbridled terror. Kowalski manages to reconnect with Stone and as they begin the long trek toward the ISS, the bio-medical engineer reveals that she once had a daughter, a little girl who tragically lost her life due to a freak accident on a playground. When the one thing you love most is taken away from you, what reason do you have to live? It's a question that Stone grapples with as her situation continues to worsen and she slowly comes to realize that she will die alone and no one will miss her. However, her despair soon gives way to hope and drives home the point that "Gravity" isn't about avoiding death, it's about finding a reason to live because life only has meaning once you deem it is something worth fighting for. It is so easy to give up and give in to your own fear but Cuarón shows through Stone's journey that what defines and inspires us is our indomitable will to hold on, to persevere even when the odds are stacked against us.

There's no question that "Gravity" will go down as a major technical achievement but the real star of the show is Sandra Bullock. Her performance in the film is a career best and brims with a palpable raw honesty. The actress perfectly captures her character's inner struggle to move on from her debilitating grief while also trying to locate the strength and willpower to live. There's a moment where Stone suffers a breakdown and resigns herself to the fact that no one will mourn or miss her if she were to die. She realizes she is all alone as the enormity of where she is comes to bear on her. It's a heartbreaking scene, one that leaves me emotional just thinking about it. Making things even more difficult is the physical demands that Bullock's role requires and I have to say, I was impressed with the way she handled them, as well as her toned physique. In a supporting role is George Clooney, who's essentially riffing on his own real-life personality. The charismatic movie star brings a nice sense of levity that keeps the tone from being overbearingly grim. Finally, Ed Harris voices Mission Control, referencing his role in Ron Howard's 1995 historical docudrama "Apollo 13."

Premiering at the 70th Venice International Film Festival back in late-August and released on October 4, 2013, "Gravity" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics hailed it as 'an eerie, tense sci-fi thriller that's masterfully directed and visually stunning.' Box office-wise, the film soared to a record-breaking $55.6 million and also marks the highest opening ever for both of its stars. Clooney is probably a lot happier now that 1997's "Batman & Robin" isn't his all-time best debut anymore, although when adjusted for inflation, "Gravity" still falls short by just $7 million. I think it's safe to say that Cuarón's film will sweep all the technical categories when the Academy Awards are held next year and Sandra Bullock is pretty much guaranteed a nomination for Best Actress, if not a win. Cuarón has truly outdone himself here as "Gravity" is a cinematic masterpiece through-and-through, the kind that only shows up once in a lifetime. This is "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the 21st century, and that's a claim I don't make lightly.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

Matt Kowalski: Beautiful, don't you think?

Dr. Ryan Stone: What?

Matt Kowalski: The sunrise…terrific.