For all the hyperbole, Gravity certainly has a lot to live up to. And the first thing to say is that, visually, the film is as stunning as people are saying. But it’s not the perfect movie the critics have built it up to be. Not by a long shot. Second thing to say is that this article is full of spoilers.

Gravity above earthGravity looks beautiful, but the style outweighs the substance

So you’ve got Sandra Bullock’s Dr. Ryan Stone. She’s got a boy’s name – it’s mentioned in the film, but this is the kind of vapid characterization applied to Cuaron’s space thriller in general. Clooney’s Matt is supposed to be charming – his in-joke with Houston, that he tells a lot of stories, brought about a few chuckles – but he’s ultimately no one to really care about. His death – we told you there would be spoilers – felt about as real as his return. And thank god his return wasn’t real.

The celebrities loved 'Gravity' and they Tweeted about it

Many have criticized Gravity for being unbelievable and implausible, not to mention vastly scientifically inaccurate. But that’s not the primary failing of this film – in fact, it’s not a failing at all: you have to suspend your internal systems of reality to enjoy this film. And it’s entirely possible to do so.

No, where this film’s shortcomings stem from are the dialogue and plot, which are almost secondary to the visual feast that Cuaron and his team of tech wizards created. Dialogue and plot though; they’re pretty important. This is a story, after all. Forensically speaking, the plot was cliché and cheesy to say the least.

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And this could just about be forgiven – we’re talking about a Hollywood blockbuster featuring two of cinema’s most marketable stars – if lovable or well-formed characters motored it along. But what we’re faced with, once the sheer magnitude of the film’s universe hits home, is two pretty regular stories. Which sounds mental considering one of them dies out in space while the other hops between space stations and makes it back to earth before dark.

But you just don’t care about the characters. I wanted Sandra Bullock to live, but that’s only because I didn’t want to have to explain to people why it wouldn’t have been that bad if she did. And Clooney as the twinkly-eyed, charming all-American martyr astronaut? Please: saw that record-breaking spacewalk punch line coming 353 miles away.

There were good points: the sheer terror felt when Bullock spun her lost comrade only to find a huge hole in his head, or when Bullock and Clooney declare themselves as the sole survivors having checked the shuttle – they were both excellent moments. More of that horror, though, was needed.

Improbable, implausible and basically impossible the film is, but that doesn’t really matter. And while the dialogue serves the diabolically predictable plot poorly, Cuaron will be hoping the depth and beauty of his mise-en-scene well stand strong in his legacy. And to be honest, it probably will. But it's not the film the critics make it out to be.

Gravity Poster'Gravity' is out tomorrow, November 8th in the U.K