Ever since childhood, the night sky has fascinated me. I have always found the planets, stars, galaxies, and vastness of outer space to be a mystery. Recently, I saw a preview for Gravity at the movies, and I knew I had to see it. Although it turned out to be a good movie, it was different from what I expected.
Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone and George Clooney as Lieutenant Matt Kowalski, starts off in no place other than outer space. Stone, Kowalski and their small crew are shown servicing the Hubble Telescope when Mission Control in Houston suddenly warns them about a Russian missile strike that is causing a cloud of space debris to head their way and orders that the mission be aborted. A second later, communications with Mission Control are lost, and the space debris comes into sight. From then on, the audience is taken on a roller coaster of relief and panic.
The size of the debris is so great that it detaches Stone from the shuttle, sending her spinning and turning into the unknown. This part definitely put me on the edge of my seat, wondering if Stone was okay and how far away from the shuttle she’d tumble. Thankfully, Kowalski makes his way to Stone, and he uses his maneuvering power to “steer” them back to the shuttle. Although the rescuing of Stone put my mind at ease, it caught me off guard.
The preview I had seen for Gravity had ended with Stone drifting far out into darkness, giving me the impression that the challenge presented in the movie would be only to retrieve Stone. I did not know that this “steering” method used to retrieve her was even possible in outer space. I thought that once Stone was loose, she was gone. Little did I know that getting Stone back would be the least of my worries.
Stone and Kowalski arrive at the shuttle to discover that the rest of the crew died in the debris, leaving the two alone in outer space, running out of oxygen by the minute. They soon maneuver to the Chinese space station, Tiangong, where there is more oxygen, but as they float by, Stone gets tangled in some freely-flying cords around the shuttle. Kowalski, having attached himself to Stone with a thin cord when he rescued her so he wouldn’t lose her again, decides that the only way to prevent pulling Stone away into space with him is to untie the cord.
This part of the movie was powerful to me. Stone was just rescued by Kowalski, and then he gives his life for her, leaving her all by herself in outer space with almost no oxygen. The race against time for her to pull herself towards the shuttle, make it inside, and get more oxygen was exhilarating. What was even more striking was when the shuttle caught on fire. Without gravity, the fire floated freely all throughout the shuttle, and it was up to Stone to escape it by detaching a piece of the shuttle before it caught on fire. This was also amazing to watch.
This part of the movie was probably my favorite. When trying to detach the shuttle, Stone begins to grow weary. She says a quick prayer, which she doesn’t do very often, and is about to “let go” when Kowalski’s spirit visits Stone. This part confused me at first, but when I realized what was going on, I was inspired. God answers her prayer by sending her a ray of hope, and it motivated her to make it through. Eventually through a series of even more struggles, Stone makes it to the beloved ground, and her faith is renewed.
Although this entire movie takes place in outer space and features very few characters, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney were both fantastic and made it seem as if they were actually stranded in outer space. Clooney’s light humor meshed perfectly with Bullock’s realistic drama, creating the perfect contrast and making the duo a perfect pair and very entertaining to watch. Not only was the acting superb, but the audio-video effects were incredible. I felt as if I was in outer space when I saw this movie. The floating sensation along with the openness of outer space presented on the screen made this movie literally out of this world. The acting on top of the incredible effects made Gravity a must-see.
The outer space theme is a bit disorienting at times, but this movie is definitely worth seeing; I recommend it to everyone. It will inspire you and leave you in awe of God and nature.
