[Locke]

Watched Gravity today.

It's difficult to separate out the merits of the narrative film Gravity and the experience of watching Gravity. Because know this, seeing this on the biggest screen you can find and in 3D, is a treat. It is so well realised, and CGI has come such a long way, it's very easy to forget you're in a movie theatre and be utterly convinced you're right there in the middle of the chaos, it's an incredible experience.

Death is a constant in the film. Literally in the surprisingly dark and brutal results of an initial debris storm, but then continuously through the eyes of Ryan Stone as we literally wear her shoes through first person shots, as she avoids death at every single turn. When we aren't facing the terror head on through her HUD and helmet, the camera sweeps outwards to capture either the carnage or the utter nothingness that surrounds her, each are as terrifying as the other in their own way. This kind of intensity, and surprising bleakness, make this feel as much a horror as it does a space adventure.

But the film itself...eh, there isn't really a lot to it. Everything about the film serves the visuals, it's basically a themepark ride. It may not play out in real time, but minus a single dream sequence, the film constantly powers forwards and never takes a breath. This makes the film all that more thrilling, sure, but that also means Bullock has so much more of the movie to carry alone with dialogue being the only brush to paint anything in this world that isn't currently exploding. And when an actress with a face so plastic it barely emotes, is your human core, you have problems.