Movie review: Gravity

cheesehead · 2013-10-05, 05:37

[Note: I include no spoilers in this post, not even the ones some reviews contain!]

Saw Gravity this afternoon. W o w.

Will probably win all sorts of visual/special effects awards, and Sandra Bullock's a candidate for best actress.

Some reviews I've read tonight (_after_ seeing the movie) give away too much plot detail, in my opinion. I recommend skipping all reviews until after you've seen the movie (preferably in IMAX 3-D, or at least 3-D on flatscreen). I know that my enjoyment would have been spoiled if I had read some of the reviews before seeing it, because of their after-the-opening plot hints. (everyone who's seen the trailer knows it's about survival after an accident.)

In addition, some reviewers did not recognize some things they saw on-screen, and their misidentifications could confuse you if you had read their reviews before seeing the movie!

- - -

I think its depiction of some hazards of life in Earth orbit is wonderfully accurate (to best of my knowledge).

That is, its depiction of what hazards exist is accurate, but like many other space movies, Gravity deliberately sacrifices a few physics realities in order to make the plot work. I recognized almost all of the physics flaws that Phil Plait has written about in his review (to be read after you've seen the movie) -- but like I said, they were necessary for the plot.

But Phil also points out,

"And the movie got so much right. The sets were spot-on . . . And the scenery, well, wow. And how about this: I noticed pretty quickly that the stars were portrayed accurately! I saw the Pleiades float by, next to the horns of Taurus, and a glimpse of Orion. Other constellations came into view as well."

(Another, not-too-long-ago movie did not do that, and its noticeably unreal stars/constellations actually distracted and annoyed me while I watched, and drew public criticism from Neil deGrasse Tyson.)

Phil concludes (and I agree), " But the bottom line is clear: Go see this flick. The science errors won’t bug you, and if they do, you need to pull your head out of your assumptions of what a movie should be. As a demonstration of craftsmanship, and as a viewing experience, Gravity is astonishing. I loved it, and I’ll be going to see it again."

It's the first movie I've ever seen in 3-D without having first seen it in 2-D. I had read, before this afternoon, that director Alfonso Cuarón went to great effort to incorporate 3-D naturally into the movie, so I made the choice to skip the 2-D, and I'm glad I did.

As I said above, see it in IMAX 3-D if you can, or at least on a large flatscreen in 3-D.

Brian-E · 2013-10-05, 19:54

Thanks very much. We (Nick and I) are planning to go and see this during the coming few days thanks to your recommendation.

cheesehead · 2013-10-06, 06:46

**********************
BTW, The Wikipedia article on Gravity spoils important plot details!! DON'T READ IT before seeing the movie.
**********************

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheesehead

I recommend skipping all reviews until after you've seen the movie (preferably in IMAX 3-D, or at least 3-D on flatscreen).

Hmm... I've re-thought my see-no-review-before-the-movie recommendation.

Now, I'd recommend (_if_ knowing how some special effects were accomplished would enhance, not spoil, your first-time viewing) those few articles/reviews that do explain some of the special effects without any plot spoilers:

http://www.thewrap.com/gravity-sandr...visual-effects

http://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/...-zero-gravity/

http://www.today.com/entertainment/s...nce-8C11307204
(not much sfx info)

Quote:

(Another, not-too-long-ago movie

(Titanic, as my sister reminded me)

Quote:

did not do that, and its noticeably unreal stars/constellations actually distracted and annoyed me while I watched, and drew public criticism from Neil deGrasse Tyson.)

- - -

Quote:

It's the first movie I've ever seen in 3-D without having first seen it in 2-D.

Oh, wait. That doesn't include the Michael Jackson 3-D IMAX video shown at Disneyworld, and maybe one other IMAX movie, but there wasn't a 2-D alternative available for those.

cheesehead · 2013-10-06, 06:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewmayer

< snip > a T-shirt emblazoned with Gravity sucks. Thankfully that would not appear to apply to the movie.

Well, it both doesn't and does apply. You'll see.

Quote:

I've always been sensitive to the cognitive disconnect which leads to motion sickness, so may skip the 3-D version, thank you very much.

Good idea.

I think the director took great care not to induce motion sickness in the audience. You may notice (or, rather, not notice unless you want to) how calmly the camera moves.

It may help to keep in mind the ways in which the physics of motion in airless "zero-G" differs from what we ordinarily see with the complicating factors of ground and air, so that you can anticipate the differences in motions you'll see on-screen. That's what I did (also from my viewing of other real shuttle/ISS videos/movies in the past), and it was just great to see when the difference was noticeable.

I can occasionally get queasy when watching a movie, but I never did with this one. If the 2-D doesn't bother you, maybe the 3-D won't.

ixfd64 · 2013-10-11, 00:41

I saw it on Tuesday. It was quite amazing despite being "only" 90 minutes long.

Xyzzy · 2014-04-12, 04:38

We avoided all reviews and articles so that this movie would not be spoiled for us.

We rented the Blu-ray version today and even though we had very low expectations for the movie, in the end it really was really great!

It was hard to avoid looking for things that were "wrong" but within a few minutes we were absorbed into the story. The amazing visuals and sound score were instrumental in this.

We now wish we had seen it on an iMax screen, but those are hard to find in the middle of nowhere. (We are lucky to have electricity!)

pinhodecarlos · 2014-04-12, 19:01

I did like this GRAVITY - Exclusive Alternate Scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw79smKZB9E

2013-10-05, 05:37	#1
cheesehead "Richard B. Woods" Aug 2002 Wisconsin USA 2²×3×641 Posts	Movie review: Gravity [Note: I include no spoilers in this post, not even the ones some reviews contain!] Saw Gravity this afternoon. W o w. Will probably win all sorts of visual/special effects awards, and Sandra Bullock's a candidate for best actress. Some reviews I've read tonight (_after_ seeing the movie) give away too much plot detail, in my opinion. I recommend skipping all reviews until after you've seen the movie (preferably in IMAX 3-D, or at least 3-D on flatscreen). I know that my enjoyment would have been spoiled if I had read some of the reviews before seeing it, because of their after-the-opening plot hints. (everyone who's seen the trailer knows it's about survival after an accident.) In addition, some reviewers did not recognize some things they saw on-screen, and their misidentifications could confuse you if you had read their reviews before seeing the movie! - - - I think its depiction of some hazards of life in Earth orbit is wonderfully accurate (to best of my knowledge). That is, its depiction of what hazards exist is accurate, but like many other space movies, Gravity deliberately sacrifices a few physics realities in order to make the plot work. I recognized almost all of the physics flaws that Phil Plait has written about in his review (to be read after you've seen the movie) -- but like I said, they were necessary for the plot. But Phil also points out, "And the movie got so much right. The sets were spot-on . . . And the scenery, well, wow. And how about this: I noticed pretty quickly that the stars were portrayed accurately! I saw the Pleiades float by, next to the horns of Taurus, and a glimpse of Orion. Other constellations came into view as well." (Another, not-too-long-ago movie did not do that, and its noticeably unreal stars/constellations actually distracted and annoyed me while I watched, and drew public criticism from Neil deGrasse Tyson.) Phil concludes (and I agree), " But the bottom line is clear: Go see this flick. The science errors won’t bug you, and if they do, you need to pull your head out of your assumptions of what a movie should be. As a demonstration of craftsmanship, and as a viewing experience, Gravity is astonishing. I loved it, and I’ll be going to see it again." It's the first movie I've ever seen in 3-D without having first seen it in 2-D. I had read, before this afternoon, that director Alfonso Cuarón went to great effort to incorporate 3-D naturally into the movie, so I made the choice to skip the 2-D, and I'm glad I did. As I said above, see it in IMAX 3-D if you can, or at least on a large flatscreen in 3-D.

2014-04-12, 19:01	#7
pinhodecarlos "Carlos Pinho" Oct 2011 Milton Keynes, UK 2²·1,259 Posts	I did like this GRAVITY - Exclusive Alternate Scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw79smKZB9E Last fiddled with by pinhodecarlos on 2014-04-12 at 19:01

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2013-10-05, 19:54	#2
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands 2·3·5·109 Posts	Thanks very much. We (Nick and I) are planning to go and see this during the coming few days thanks to your recommendation.

2013-10-11, 00:41	#5
ixfd64 Bemusing Prompter "Danny" Dec 2002 California 5·17·29 Posts	I saw it on Tuesday. It was quite amazing despite being "only" 90 minutes long.

2014-04-12, 04:38	#6
Xyzzy Aug 2002 3³·313 Posts	We avoided all reviews and articles so that this movie would not be spoiled for us. We rented the Blu-ray version today and even though we had very low expectations for the movie, in the end it really was really great! It was hard to avoid looking for things that were "wrong" but within a few minutes we were absorbed into the story. The amazing visuals and sound score were instrumental in this. We now wish we had seen it on an iMax screen, but those are hard to find in the middle of nowhere. (We are lucky to have electricity!)