This George Clooney Scene Ruined Gravity According To Fans
In the aftermath of the success of "Avatar," studios chased the 3D bandwagon hard. Soon, pretty much every blockbuster had 3D effects added to varying degrees of success. During this period, arguably the best example of how to utilize 3D technology well was the Oscar-winning "Gravity."
Alfonso Cuarón's magnum opus involves two astronauts, played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, who end up stranded in space after debris strikes their vessel. They must struggle against the elements to have any hope of returning home. It's a tense thriller that perfectly uses its 90-minute runtime to great effect to leave audiences on the edge of their seats throughout the entire plot.
After watching the movie, it's easy to see why it earned numerous awards and places on many "End of Year" best-of lists. However, for some moviegoers, all of the praise may seem overhyped. A discussion on Reddit has questioned if a single scene ruins the entire experience and dispels any tension felt throughout the remainder of the story.
There's no scientific reason for George Clooney's character to let go
One of the tensest moments in "Gravity" comes when Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (Clooney) find themselves struggling to remain near their space shuttle after an assault from debris. They wind up in a precarious position where Matt's hanging by a thread, and he's pulling Ryan with him into the abyss. If he hangs on, they both die, but if he lets go, at least she has a chance of living. It's at this point Matt makes a heroic sacrifice and lets go of his rope, floating off into the immense unknown of space while Ryan goes back to the relative safety of the shuttle.
It's a beautiful scene ... for some people until you apply actual science to the moment. In a Reddit thread detailing scenes that ruined entire movies for people, several people pointed to this sequence in "Gravity" as the best example of the prompt. u/InsomniaticWanderer explains, "His velocity was zero relative to the station. He wouldn't have 'fell' and he wasn't 'pulling her down.'" Basically, since there's no outer force in space, Matt should've merely come to a stop. There should've been no force that threatened Ryan's well-being, and theoretically, she should've been able to pull him back to her.
Another user, u/ForTheWilliams, even came up with a worthwhile workaround for the scenario: "If they both were floating away at a low velocity and no tether, couldn't he push her towards the station, launching himself away from it? Why make it so obvious that the sacrifice was, you know, not real?" No movie's perfect, and for the most part, "Gravity" appears to nail the terrifying experience of going up against the greatest unknown to humankind.