Gravity [2D-Review]

One of the big winners at the Oscars this year was Gravity. The movie combines a claustrophobic thriller with an emotional, realistic struggle for survival with exquisite acting by Sandra Bullock. Of course let’s not forget the incredible visuals…

When I saw that Gravity won 7 Oscars, I wasn’t surprised at all. Even though I was kind of disappointed that Sandra Bullock didn’t win best actress I completely understand why the movie ruled in all of its categories (which were mainly in the technical area).
Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the movie in 3D, but the 2D Blu-Ray made it quite clear to me, that this movie was meant to be watched in 3D, at the cinema – nowhere else. Don’t get me wrong the visuals were still amazing, but whenever something realistically floats around in the vacuum in front of the actors you want to bite your butt for not paying those few dollars to see it on the big screen in 3D (pretty much like Avatar back in the day).

The story is not very hard to explain. A few astronauts and their spaceships are hit by satellite-parts orbiting earth and at the end only one survives. She struggles to find a way to return to earth and improvises several times, changing from one spacecraft to another in a seemingly hopeless situation. In addition to that the woman (played by Sandra Bullock) has a rough past and almost loses her will to live in the middle of her ordeals. George Clooney, basically playing himself has not a big part in the movie, but his presence is crucial for her to remember her training and take her chance of survival…

There is not a lot, that’s wrong with this movie’s script, but there was one major flaw in it: Sandra Bullock’s character lost her daughter when she was very little and ever since she remained emotionally unavailable, cold and depressed. Now, can anyone tell me why NASA would send a depressed and mentally unstable person on a mission to outer space, however save everything seems? Did she lie about her past in the interview or did she fake her psychological test? No matter how crucial her position and her work is for the success of this mission, it’s never worth risking the lives of other people just because you took an unstable
person on a trip with them.

This little plot-hole aside, the movie rocks, and Bullock’s performance is believable and incredibly touching. Clooney does an unimpressive but solid job playing a different version of himself and the visual effects as well as the directing transform this movie into a masterpiece of modern SciFi cinema.

I hope this movie gets a re-release at the cinema following its big successes at the Oscars, since I really would like to see the 3D effects. But even without them, this will not disappoint you, and if you like watching actors doing a great job and suffer with them through extraordinary situations, this movie is the right movie for you. It’s definitely not a boys-only, girls-only movie, this piece of art will touch everyone equally… And apparently there has never been a movie that captures life in space as accurately and scientifically correct as this one!
Probably the best movie of 2013.