The Gorge

The Gorge

This Apple TV+ movie was streamed yesterday.

A semi-retired Marine sniper (Miles Teller) is recruited by a still impressive Sigourney Weaver for an unusual job that will last for a year - no details given. At the same time, a Lithuanian sniper (Anya Taylor-Joy) is recruited by someone for a similar job.

They are sedated and then helicoptered in to a point a day's hike from their duty posts - one on either side of a deep, mist filled gorge, each in their own ageing concrete tower to guard the gorge.

The rules are quite simple - no contact with your opposite number on the other side; a radio check in every 30 days; kill anything trying to get out of the gorge; expect to be relieved in 12 months.

To no-one's surprise, they don't obey the rules - shenanigans ensue...

It's utter b0ll0cks, but good fun - the writers/producers have sat down with a large quantity of edibles and asked themselves the question, "Given what we are trying to do, what precautions would we have to take?"

There are plot holes you could taxi an Airbus through, but ignore that and eat your popcorn, and you'll likely enjoy it.

The Acting Anya Taylor-Joy is a great actress. She adds believability to her role by the way she delivers her lines. It is like she is a sniper not just playing one. Same thing will Teller. It's amazing what real actors can do with a story that has been told many times. These two put a new twist on an old story and they make work. Sigourney Weaver was a real surprise who did a good job in a supporting role.

The Story The movie had excellent pace. The action scenes were very well done.

The writing was excellent. Having good lines to deliver by the actors keeps your interest.

Anya and Teller have very good on screen chemistry. You never feel like they are just saying their lines. It would be great to see these two in a sequel but the story doesn't lend itself to a part 2.

If you read most of the reviews so far you can tell there are two very different tones in the two halfs of this film. Some may not like both styles of the film. There are slow and intimate moments in the first half building up the whole structure of the film and sci-fi horror very disturbing scenes in the second half. I believe the story, photography, acting, editing, visual effects and everything else felt very well done for a self contained film with so few characters and empty spaces. I don't think the payoff and the reveal where underwhelming, felt well explained and conclusive, definitely worth watching it.

First of all, the concept itself was fresh, and the romance between the two main characters was decent. Above all, the movie didn't feel boring even after about two hours, and the acting wasn't bad either. Initially, I thought the movie would be a fantasy monster film or one with aliens, as the trailer mentioned a monster. However, this film is actually a sci-fi action romance based entirely on scientific conspiracy theories.

That said, there were some parts in the middle where the plausibility was lacking, and the plot wasn't as meticulously crafted as it could have been, which made me lower my rating. Overall, though, it's still a movie worth watching.

This kind of action-romance film usually brings to mind the old-fashioned notion of chivalry, where a man is expected to sacrifice himself unilaterally for a woman. However, in an era where both men and women enlist in the military regardless of gender, such clichés feel outdated and old-school. What makes this film truly moving is that both the man and the woman sincerely and coolly sacrifice for each other, overcoming hardships together.

Last but not least, the idea of characters in a movie sharing love and hinting at the future through poetry and quotes really resonated with me, and it made me want to indulge in poetry again. In this age of AI content creation, it felt like a classic yet refreshing approach.

I watched this on a whim but chose it for the cast. Was quickly enjoying the movie that constantly moved into new territory with the story.

And believe it or not, it had a pretty great love story something that is really hard to achieve within the genere of horror / sci-fi.

The characters were fun to get invested in and their relationship really made the movie compared to movies that have all action but we just couldn't care less if they died.

I do think it helped that I saw no trailers for the film. That really made it something I could enjoy without having any expectations. If your looking for a good sci fi, I recommend it.