The Walk Movie Review

"People ask me 'Why do you risk death?'. For me, this is life." The Walk attempts to prove this ideology. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, The Walk stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as French high wire artist Philippe Petit who gathered a team and went to New York to realize his dream-- to walk on a tightrope attached to the North and South towers of the World Trade Center.

   "And with this stroke of pencil, my fate was sealed."

Right off the bat, let me tell you, the entire last act of this film  (last 25-30 minutes) are worth watching in the theatres for the 3D. I usually am highly sceptical when it comes to 3D and think that it's all a big gimmick. And it probably is, for this movie. But it embraces that fact and Robert Zemeckis, who's already proven himself to be a master of visual artistry a long time ago, casts his magic once again.

Other than that, the film is filled with 'cool' transitions and well-crafted sequences all along. Narrative-wise, however, The Walk is pretty dull. Almost feeling like a heist movie sometimes, with our main character and his team planning on how to pull this seemingly impossible "coup" off, the film lacks a strong connection between the story and characters. The decision to not have simple narration and instead cut to Joseph Gordon-Levitt talking to the camera in the middle of scenes felt odd as well. 

There's also a love interest somewhere in there and I'm tired of saying this, but it felt rushed and I never really cared about it. Then again, maybe making it feel unimportant was the point. "I am arrogant." says our protagonist. "I have to be."  Here is a character I can call selfish without it being offensive. A character whose focus is solely on his dream and how he can accomplish it. Yes, he's gathered up a team. Yes, he needs their help. But does he get distracted by puny friendships? Non. This passion and dedication, however, didn't get through to the audience enough.

"You're doing too much. Do nothing."

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's french accent wasn't as distracting as I thought it would be. But his performance wasn't what peaked my interest. It was Ben Kingsley as Philippe's mentor, Papa Rudy. I had no idea he was in this movie and it felt so good to see him not play a forgettable role in a forgettable movie. More than him, I was entranced by his character. No, it's not one of his best performances, but with the little screen time that he has, he certainly leaves a fleeting impression.

In conclusion, The Walk falls flat as a story which could've been made more interesting and engaging, but makes up for it with its final act. I knew how this story would end, but once he was up there. On the wire. 1,360 feet above the ground. It didn't matter. It was tense. The audience suddenly had a heartbeat. One that was racing. And it made it me hold my breath. Which, I believe, one shouldn't do at that altitude.

So have you seen The Walk? What did you think about it? What's your favourite Robert Zemeckis movie? Comment below.

The Martian Movie Review

When an astronaut crew has to abort their mission and blast off from planet Mars, Mark Watney(Matt Damon) is reluctantly left behind by their mission commander, assuming he's dead. Only, he's not. And now Mark is stranded  millions of miles away from help. With an entire inhabitable planet to himself. He's almost sure he's going to die there. But then he sets himself up to the task of not.  "I'm not going to die here." he says. Usually, a piece of dialogue like that would be considered cringe-worthy. But Sir Ridley Scott's decision to cut to a shot of the desolate planet he's on and not showing us Matt Damon's determined face instead hits just the right note.

I was thoroughly surprised by The Martian. When  I saw the trailer, I thought it was just going to be another visually ecstatic space movie. And while Scott has managed to make Mars look interesting and captured the essence of being alone on a planet quite well, the movie is more about the situation and how the characters deal with it. Which is also the part of the film that was more enjoyable.

Shockingly, this movie is hilarious.What I really appreciate is that it's not just one character who's the constant source of comic relief. Everyone realizes that what's happening is not ordinary. Everyone reacts to show that. In doing that, the movie develops a brilliant sense of humor. It's almost like they use humor as a shield of-sorts to hide their fear. Especially, Watney, who at one point gives a detailed explanation as to why it would be apt to call him a "space-pirate".

"I can't wait till I have grandchildren. When I was younger,I had to walk to the rim of a crater.Uphill! In an EVA suit!On Mars,ya little shit!Ya hear me?Mars!"(a quote from Andy Weir's novel The Martian)

The Martian just keeps doing the right things, from beginning to end. The movie's very consistent, tone-wise. It's suspenseful when it needs to be. It's touching.And as already mentioned, it's funny.

It manages to not mess things up. It keeps the storyline simple(does not mean it's predictable). Never, going off on an irrelevant side-plot. There're basically three geographical parts of the film.There's the people at NASA on Earth, there's the astronaut crew on their way back home somewhere in space and then there's the loner stuck on Mars. All these come together really well by the end of the movie. It's one of those times where saying a movie pleased the audience and felt satisfactory isn't really a bad thing.

Lastly, the review won't be complete without a mention to the amazing cast. Matt Damon, as you would have already guessed delivers a gripping performance. He  creates an instantly likeable character--Mark, who's also a genius, but not in away that he feels extraneous. Sometimes doing things that amuses himself more than the audience. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeff Daniels play their parts efficiently as well.  Kristen Wiig, who I thought would be a misfit, proves me wrong.

Donald Glover comes in for a scene or two. One of them being my favourite 'On Earth' scenes of the movie.

The Martian is an undeniably entertaining movie with a perfect blend of visual spectacle, humor, suspense and of course, humanity. It is Sir Ridley Scott's best in recent times and definitely one of my favourites of the year.To any 'space survival' film that decides not to be dark and brooding throughout and instead features a David Bowie song, I say-- CARRY ON!

So have you seen this movie? What did you think about it? What's your favourite space based movie? Also, which film really surprised you with its unexpected comical aspect? Comment below.

Note: I haven't read the novel, but I hear the movie felt like an adaptation that stayed true to its source material and inherited the spirit of the novel. So props to Drew Goddard for his screenplay!