First Hit: An absolutely Oscar nominee and winner worthy film – amazing beyond belief.
When I'm sitting in a theater, I don’t often get overwhelmingly suspense filled, but this film put me there from the opening moment.
From the beginning this film transports the audience into space and keeps you there till the very end. I strongly suspect adding today’s 3D visuals added to the experience of weightlessness, helplessness, and amazingness of the story and film. What this also means is that I recommend that you see this film in 3D.
Briefly, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is an obsessed detailed oriented scientist. She lost her little girl in a freak accident and work, her scientific endeavors, are all she really has. Her work associate, senior astronaut and shuttle pilot Matt Kowalski (played by George Clooney) is enjoying his last trip to space and supports Ryan as she conducts repairs on the Hubble space telescope.
However, their work is interrupted because the Russians destroy a satellite which accidentally causes a chain reaction by breaking apart other satellites which creates high speed space particles that their mission will fly through. These particles may destroy their ship and they need to leave. I won’t share any more about the storyline but it is definitely worth the price of admission.
Yes, Clooney and Bullock star in this film but the overall star of this film is the director, space, and the ability to move the sense of space into the theater like no other film has.
Bullock is absolutely Oscar nominee worthy. Her performance had me believe she was in space and was this person. She was brilliant. Clooney was superb. His self-depreciative humor in character was spot on. He was the veteran, the cowboy, the thoughtful leader – perfect. Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron wrote an amazingly out of the world script grounded in real human characters. Alfonso’s direction was beyond sublime and he will be nominated for sharing this amazing experience.
Overall: This is a must see and I suggest pay the extra fee for 3D.