The Walk is not a perfect film...at all. It’s got shallow characters, a thin script, cartoonish representation of Philippe Petit’s walk between the Two Towers in 1974, and a rushed plot. The film is still a perfect experience though. Wait that’s a contradiction. How could anything have that many problems, and still be perfect in someway? Well that’s what Robert Zemeckis, and Joseph Gordon Levitt are for. The thing about Robert Zemeckis is that he’s a director like Steven Spielberg. A director that directs a film with such an unabashed sense of earnestness; an unabashed optimism that it almost get’s rid of the flaws of his films. The best example I can think of this is ultimately Forrest Gump, a flawed film that through the earnestness of the direction, and the optimism of it’s star won more Academy Awards than it deserved (Forrest Gump is great, but freaking Shawshank came out that year). The Walk, I have a feeling will stand in much the same stature. A genuinely flawed film that doesn’t seem all that flawed because the ingenuity of the entire thing. Because yes the film has everything that I mentioned in the first paragraph – but it’s still a near perfect experience. I already mentioned the first element that makes this happen, but there are always a few elements needed to do it. The second is Joseph Gordon Levitt who has such optimism in the title role here that it doesn’t really matter how much of a caricature he is. Phillipe is interesting because he so eccentric and quirky, and Levitt basically makes the movie on that. The other character are actually much of the same. They are cartoonish, and only show up for their one character defining moment, and then shrink into the background to let the plot keep barreling forward. Ben Kingsley is in this movie for maybe 2 minutes, and yet he is kind of an important character. I honestly didn’t care much about these weak characters because they allow a consistent fast pace that fits Phillipe’s own personality. Yes, the pacing hurts the overarching plot by rushing all of it, but it just seems more in tandem with the characters presented. I’m afraid of heights, and seeing this movie in IMAX 3D, I can tell you that the 3D, and visuals that come with the film are excellent. I say this keeping in mind that the depth perception of the 3D is so convincing as Phillipe walks between the towers that I was sweating. Really just wincing in my seat. I hate to say it, but I think that 3D is absolutely paramount in the viewing of this film. This could prove problematic in the long run as many people will probably see it without the visual tricks, but in the form I saw it, The Walk is a near perfect experience. It’s fun, exciting, and overall optimistic. I give The Walk an 8.5 out of 10. P.S. : Yes, there is a 911 reference, but it’s not preachy at all, and is a very good subtle tribute to the majesty of the towers.
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |