One of the most anticipated movies of the fall is Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as a pair of astronauts stranded in space. We’ve all already seen the breathtaking trailer (some of us have seen it far too many times), but we’ve been left wondering if the film itself will hold up to the high expectations that it sets. Well, now we no longer have to wonder as the film has premiered at the Venice Film Festival and the first batch of reviews have hit the net. Without further ado, take a look at what the critics lucky enough to see the film this early have said so far:
“A master class in fluid camerawork, bold, unfussy imagery and special effects that put most recent Hollywood blockbusters to shame.” – Jon Frosch, The Atlantic
“If the film past is dead, Gravity shows us the glory of cinema’s future. It thrills on so many levels. And because Cuarón is a movie visionary of the highest order, you truly can’t beat the view.” Richard Corliss, Time
“At once the most realistic and beautifully choreographed film ever set in space, Gravity is a thrillingly realized survival story spiked with interludes of breath-catching tension and startling surprise.” Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter
“[A] white-knuckle space odyssey, a work of great narrative simplicity and visual complexity.” Justin Chang, Variety
“A brilliantly tense and involving account of two stricken astronauts; a howl in the wilderness that sucks the breath from your lungs.” Xan Brooks, Guardian
“Cuaron’s exhilarating and often spectacular 3-D film is a real pleasure, driven by top-notch lead performance from Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as well as some seriously cool special effects.” Mark Adams, Screen International
So apparently the film is pretty good, but will it be good enough to go for Oscar gold next year? Perhaps, though it does seem rare that a science-fiction film is taken seriously enough to be included with the heavy-hitting dramas, at least in the higher categories.
As I’m sure most of you are already aware, Cuaron is an extremely talented director, giving us such films as Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Y Tu Mama Tambien, and now it looks like he has another great film to add to his growing list.
There’s still a little over a month before Gravity hits theaters, but at least now we can confirm that it will be worth the wait. We’ll even get another batch of reviews when it shows at the Toronto International Film Festival early next month, which will hopefully continue to sing its praises. If our anticipation wasn’t high enough before, it’s certainly skyrocketed now.
Gravity finally arrives in theaters on October 4th. Check back in a few weeks for our review as we’ll be seeing it at the Toronto International Film Festival.
(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)