Gravity deserves every nickel it has earned despite the October 2013 competition being rather weak. Director Alfonso Cuarón provides a non-stop, 90-minute terror-filled experience from Dr. Ryan Stone’s perspective. What begins as the final day of a routine shuttle mission to repair the Hubble space telescope transforms into a desperate struggle to survive when debris from a Russian spy satellite starts hurtling by at several miles/second. Space is the worst place to be when the shit hits the fan because death will be either instantaneous or painfully slow. Forget being rescued, no country on Earth can launch anything into orbit without weeks of planning.
So astronauts Stone and Kowalski have to conserve their air, stay calm and use what little means they have to get to the ISS. At the multi-national space station there might be a spare emergency landing capsule.
It was worth the extra money for 3-D to see Gravity. I have a friend who made the effort to see it at an IMAX. Maybe another day. I think this flick might live on to be a mainstay at such theaters for a while. Overall I loved Cuarón’s approach to the story. Gravity begins at the Hubble, no training montages, no flashbacks, none of the usual formulas most American drama/action flicks take. There’s some extraneous conversations and backstory about Dr. Stone’s daughter. With the main character speaking aloud, this is a necessary evil due to audiences getting bored and/or puzzled by a character’s continual silence. Case in point, in 2001, when Bowman goes after the dying Poole. Again, it’s easy to forgive thanks to the movie’s other strong points.
As for the amateur astronomer in me. I read the critiques by Dr. Plait and recalled what little I remembered from Physics. Much of the Science is pretty solid but Cuarón does have to take a few McGuffins or there wouldn’t be any movie, namely how the retired space shuttles, ISS and other vital probes reside in orbits far away from dangerous, high-speed debris. However, I hope the movie does make the public more aware of the dead/destroyed satellite problem that is growing above our world.
Alamo Extras: Sorry, none to report. We arrived right as the trailers were starting. Buying my new car took much longer than planned, especially since I was only going to look at cars. Special thanks to the box office lady who rescheduled our 4 pm show to 6:30 pm at no extra charge. Alamo rocks!