George Clooney’s Most Terrifying Film Is Blowing Up On Streaming
The science fiction thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, is in the top 10 on HBO Max.
What could be more terrifying than being trapped in the vastness of space? The George Clooney thriller Gravity examines that question as he and Sandra Bullock find themselves trapped on a space shuttle that has malfunctioned after being smashed by a field of debris, and audiences are still responding to the movie 10 years after its 2013 release. Flix Patrol reports that the movie is in the top 10 in the United States on HBO Max.
In Gravity, Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first space mission, but not before a tragic accident has taken the life of her daughter. George Clooney is the mission commander, Lieutenant Matt Kowalski, who is on his last mission as an astronaut and looking forward to retirement despite a life of adventure. When the shuttle is overtaken by a cloud of mid-orbit debris, the rest of the crew is killed, leaving Stone and Kowalski as the only survivors.
Throughout the movie, they take daring risks in order to survive and get back to Earth, including leaping through orbit to reach other objects such as the International Space Station. Through much of the movie, Sandra Bullock’s character is alone in the silence and vastness of space, reliant only on her will to survive and the advice and encouragement of George Clooney’s character. Cut off from everything around her, she is trapped in the bubble of her space suit, even though all around her are thousands of miles of open space.
Originally, the part of Lieutenant Kowalski was potentially going to be handed to Robert Downey Jr. but scheduling conflicts caused him to back out. The part of Dr. Ryan Stone is significantly larger than that of Lieutenant Matt Kowalski, which is more of a supporting role than a lead, and this was reflected in the numerous awards and nominations for the movie, which saw Sandra Bullock nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance. Instead, George Clooney was cast in this historic film, playing its most significant role besides its lead.
Often seen as an allegory for the spiritual and psychological will to live, Gravity was very successful at the box office and with critics, who rated it 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and helped it earn acclaim both nationally and abroad. For George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, it made the mark as their biggest box-office hit, raking in over $700 million worldwide by the end of its theatrical run. The effects, which earned one of the movie’s seven Oscar wins, took three years to complete, which resulted in the movie being delayed from a 2012 opening to its opening during World Space Week in October 2013.
Fans of George Clooney can join those who made it top 10 by watching it on HBO Max but be prepared for a deep psychological thriller set in an environment that is as oppressive as it is wide open. Gravity is not intended to be a horror movie, but the consequences of being trapped in orbit around the Earth are the stuff of nightmares. This only makes the movie more compelling and drew the best performances out of its talented cast.
