The Walk
PG, 123 Minutes, 2015
About: Exactly as in the excellent documentary Man on Wire, a Frenchman decides to walk a wire between the Twin Towers
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt as not quite Pepe LePew, Ben Kingsley as Ben Kingsley in every movie of the past 2 decades, Charlotte Le Bon as really pretty but bland, and people you’ve never heard of
Directed: Robert Zemeckis who has a pretty impressive career and also The Polar Express
Best Thing About It: Passes the Apollo 13 test – I know how it ends, but I am still tense and interested
Worst Thing About It: Some of the American supporting characters are really stereotyped 1970s – although in real life they may have been that way too
Oddest Thing About It: The constant CGI of the World Trade Center reminded more more of how I thought of them during my childhood (boxy, powerful, iconic) than as just 9/11 images. This is a good thing.
Overall: The walk on the wire itself itself is worth it especially in IMAX 3D. Breathtaking. JGL somehow let me believe he was a Frenchman (which he actually speaks) despite that outrageous accent. Twin Towers CGI was fantastic. 1st half a little whimsical. 2nd half is spellbinding.
