En la cuerda floja

This movie surely exceeded my expectations, let me start by saying this is one of the best well-made movies I have seen this year. The technique, cinematography, music, ... are all top notch. Most of us already know the story, and some of us saw other movies about the same man, but this one definitely has the highest production values. What I like most about "The Walk" is what I think differentiates it from the other movies, you feel the importance and grandeur of the twin towers, for a moment there you feel they are the stars of the movie, an integral part of the story that Robert Zemeckis did a great job capturing their character and presence. I felt this movie was more of a tribute to the towers than of Philip's, it sheds a different light on the walk that will give you a warm feeling by the end. You realize that they weren't just any two buildings, they attracted a young man from across the Atlantic and changed his life forever.

The Walk is a visual masterpiece with a captivating story and superb acting. It was intense, thrilling, and emotional. The cinematography was top notch and the CGI was impeccable. This was truly an amazing cinematic experience that was made for IMAX 3D.

The basic story of The Walk is this: a French street performer becomes obsessed with hanging a high wire between the two Twin Towers and walking on it. He flies to New York, recruits a few people to help him, and after weeks of of planning, is ready to perform an impossible stunt that will be remembered forever. The script is very well written and the story comes across very nicely to the viewer. It focuses on all the right moments for the right amount of time, which means the pacing is generally good. My only problem arises in the beginning as I felt it was a little rushed. Character development is also not the finest, but it is enough to make the viewer care about the characters. Other than that the story was told in a very captivating way that left viewer on the edge of their seat.

The Walk is a visual treat, specifically the last part of the film. There are magnificent, swooping camera shots showing off the beautiful Twin Towers in all their glory and with IMAX 3D, the viewer feels like they are thousands of feet in the air on the high wire. There were multiple times in this movie where vertigo kicked in due to the crazy heights portrayed in the film. The cinematography really helps the viewer become immersed in the experience as there are so many memorable shots of the Twin Towers and views of New York City. The CGI used to create this wonderful experience looks insanely real and really makes one appreciate the beauty and height of the Twin Towers. When Philippe Petit is on the high wire, wind and distant traffic noises are added to the incredible CGI to enhance the feeling of being 110 stories up in the air and with moving camera angles, the experience is beautiful and realistic.

The acting in this movie is superb. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amazing as Philippe Petit and really does a good job showing how insane Petit really was. Charlotte Le Bon also does a fine job portraying Petit's girlfriend, and Ben Kingsley gives a good performance as Petit's mentor. All the supporting cast give great performances as well.

Robert Zemeckis does an amazing job making this movie as intense and thrilling as possible. His direction really made this movie what it is; and it is visual spectacle told within a great story.

In the end, The Walk is a visually thrilling and intensely told masterpiece. It boast beautiful cinematography, flawless CGI, great acting and direction, and a captivating story. This is truly a movie to behold in IMAX 3D and one will come out of the theater feeling immensely satisfied with the experience. The Twin Towers were beautifully portrayed in this movie and made one appreciate their existence even more. I am proud to say that this is one of the best and most satisfying movie experiences of this year.

Robert Zemeckis continue's to be of the best director's in Hollywood. He has made a beautiful movie and even though you know what happens, he keeps you gripping your armrests and holding your breath until the very end. Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines in this role along with the rest of the cast.

I suppose this review is also for the people who were in New York during 9/11. As a survivor of 9/11, I couldn't help but cry at the end of the movie. Seeing the Twin Towers rising in all their glory, basking in the sunset and reminding us of their beauty that so many of us took for granted, brought back so many emotions for me. They were like old friends saying hello and goodbye one last time.

Thank you Zemeckis for telling a great story, making a beautiful movie and bringing back old friends to life!

If possible, go see it in IMAX! You won't regret it!

From the first scene Joseph Gordon-Levitt dons the all black persona and talks about his passion, I'm hooked. This monologue heavy delivery requires that caliber of performance from the lead, also reminds me of Ewan McGregor on Big Fish. It takes the audience on a bizarre yet fascinating adventure and makes us feel like a part of the character's larger-than-life endeavor.

This is the story of Philippe Petit, a performer with the idea of wire-walking across the World Trade Center towers. While it may sound simple, the journey there is a captivating one. The presentation is almost magical with circus act and flamboyant atmosphere, although there are plenty of realistic details and intricate planning involved, at times it almost feels like a funny heist movie.

Visual is breathtaking, the cinematography takes full advantages of the vistas, let it be small village or big city. The way the scenes are shot gives the movie a much more surreal ambiance. It's an enhanced realism, and although it's not as refined, there's a spirit of Hugo lingering here. It makes great use of 3D with timely panoramic shots and even stuff-thrown-at-your-face antic, but for this movie I wouldn't mind.

The same goes with its jazz influenced soundtracks, occasional slow ballad or alternate take on popular songs. The production value just oozes gorgeousness. All the technical aspects aside, the best attraction is definitely Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He is utterly remarkable, youthful and charming. This is the kind of acting prowess that can captivate audience with sheer passion, it's a true homage to the real life counterpart.

The Walk is nothing short of a breathtaking tale. Its charismatic protagonist and masterful visual invite the audience to not only walk alongside, but in a sense glide freely through such an inspiring story.

Phillipe Petit shocked the entire world when he was seen walking on a high-wire cable, secured between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City during its construction. Over one-hundred stories above ground, walking on a wire barely an inch wide, Phillipe could've lost his balanced and plunged to his death at any second. However, that didn't seem to be the story that spilled its way into the public; the focus was more on this unassuming Frenchman and his love for risking his life and facing his potential fate in a head-on, fearless manner. Petit believed, in a sense, that risking your life was the only way to know and feel that you were indeed alive.

Petit's story has become widely known and discussed thank to "Man on Wire," a fantastic 2008 documentary that outlines in detail the how and why of his fearless act. Robert Zemeckis's "The Walk," however, is a well-made, thematically significant account of the events, told within the boundaries of a biopic that takes an introspective, fourth-wall-breaking look at how Petit accomplished what he did.

Petit is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who stands atop The Statue of Liberty whilst telling this unfathomable story. From the first scene, showcasing Petit on the statue, one will immediately detect a strangeness in Gordon-Levitt's French accent. The man who we recently saw proudly boasting and owning a full-bloodied Italian accent has now adopted a rather hammy French accent that occasionally treads the line of self-parody. This is the film's first, and really only, obstacle; if you can get past this, your enjoyment of the film will likely be pretty high. If you can't overlook this, I wish you the best one-hundred and twenty minutes.

The film follows Petit's humble beginnings on the streets of France as a young troubadour, from performing as a street-mime and meeting Annie (Charlotte Le Bon), a singer who performs in the streets as well, who will eventually be an accomplice to his high-wire act in New York City, to becoming an ambitious wire-walker. He enlists in the help of Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), a famous tightrope walker in the circus, who agrees to help him accomplish his dreams, albeit reluctantly so. The remainder of the latter half of the film concerns the extensive planning and development of Petit's plan to walk the rope between the Twin Towers and subsequently carrying out his actions.

Audiences sold by the film's series of daring and ambitious trailers may be shocked to note how much goes into the exposition of the buildup and around-the-clock planning of the walk itself. By the hour mark, I was beginning to question why Zemeckis, a known "visualist" in Hollywood, responsible for gems like "Back to the Future" and "The Polar Express," was chosen to direct a film that was so narrative-driven. But then, as quickly as the film began, the scenes atop the World Trade Center did, and in a way, allowed the real film to finally start as a result. When one sees how magnificent and captivating the scenes surrounding Petit's walk is when they'll see Zemeckis's artistic vision; it was an event so unspeakably tranquil yet suspenseful that I couldn't help but feel my palms sweat. The way Zemeckis and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski - who intently focuses on clouds and atmospheric naturalism during the walk - wrap the audience up in the awe-inspiring risk and inherent danger that comes with this event makes the film transcend fiction in a way that has the ability to give audiences a real experience. So few films do that that it becomes petty to complain about something like the weakness of Gordon-Levitt's accent.

On a thematic note, however, "The Walk" is a fascinating look at the ideas of optimism and courage that have ostensibly become interwoven in the fabric of American society of the years. The Twin Towers, in the film and in real-life, represented financial stability and international connectedness, and Zemeckis works to emphasize it in a way that spells out loving respect more-so than it does imminent disaster. The towers are viewed as a simple of untold bravery, much like Petit, and "The Walk" reminds us of a time period that still had the remainder of the world looking to America as a place of impossible achievement.

Zemeckis does a wonderful job at blending drama with visuals here, much like he did in his last film "Flight," a brilliant drama that came unfairly branded as both a disaster film and a courtroom drama. With "The Walk," Zemeckis takes empathy-inspiring visuals and themes of American exceptionalism and makes them function in a manner that is germane to the film's inherent aura of wonder. If you want it broken down in a simplistic manner, however, its delightful cinematic qualities and breathtaking visuals justify the ticket-price.