As a child, I always wanted to be an astronaut, and after watching Gravity I still want to be one. Sure, there are the stomach churning spins in zero-gravity, the claustrophobic living quarters and the chance you could die in any number of horrible ways including imploding, being pierced by flying satellite shrapnel, or burning in high-oxygen fires and poorly executed re-entries, but if Gravity has proven anything it’s that the scenery is spectacular and the company is attractive.
George Clooney is certainly attractive. He also has a dry wit, a deep voice, and a broad cleft chin. Whether Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story fame was created with Clooney in mind or the other way around is a moot point, but Clooney is so Lightyear in Gravity it’s distracting in almost a comic relief sort of way. It may have been deliberate, but space is so extraordinary it should be able to provide enough attractions not to need distractions, or George Clooney.
Meanwhile Sandra Bullock spends as much time in her underwear as she does in her spacesuit. It turns out that panties and a skimpy top is just what female astronauts happen to wear under their suits. It was true of Sigourney Weaver in the Alien series and it’s true of Bullock. Bullock is also the vehicle for the film’s none-too-subtle life and rebirth “message”. We get it. Bullock being foetal and sucking her thumb doesn’t make the “message” more important.
But enough quibbling. Gravity is a mind-blowing film experience that has to be seen in 3D. The special effects in Gravity star almost as brightly as those in space, and certainly a lot more than the so-called “stars” of the Hollywood variety who barely shine at all.
