The Walk

The Walk (2015)

*** (out of 4)

The incredible true story of high-wire walker Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who got to live his dream of crossing the Twin Towers in 1974.

THE WALK was first brought to the screen in the Oscar-winning documentary MAN ON WIRE but obviously director Robert Zemeckis saw something in the story that made him want to turn it into a feature. THE WALK was released to Luke warm reviews and it ended up dying a rather painful death at the box office but I'm going to guess that it won't be forgotten but instead fine a good cult audience somewhere down the road.

The story itself is something of complete wonder and there's no question that the documentary did a much better job at telling it. With that said, even thought the documentary is the better of the two films, this feature still offers up some impressive visuals and performances that makes it worth seeing. I didn't get to see the film in 3D so I can't comment on that but I thought Zemeckis did a wonderful job at making the viewer see and feel how high up Petit was.

The scenes certainly have a very claustrophobic feel to them and you can't help but panic yourself just wondering what you would do in a situation like that. Just reading or hearing about the story will make you wonder how a human could do it but this film gives you a great feel and idea of the terror that it would cause in most people. Gordon-Levitt gives a very good performance in the role of Petit and I especially liked how the movie didn't back down from him at times not being so likable. I thought the actor did a remarkable job getting into the role and you had no problem believing that he was the real guy.

THE WALK does contain some flaws and that includes it running on a bit too much. Everyone going into the movie knows the story so there's a rush to get to the actual walk in the movie. I thought the early stuff dragged on a bit too much and I think some editing probably would have helped things. However, once we actually get to the walk itself there's no question that the magic takes over and that alone makes the film worth sitting through.

What did you expect from the director of Back to the Future and Forrest Gump? Robert Zameckis has another thoroughly enjoyable film, The Walk, about Philippe Petit's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) high-wire walk between the World trade Center's twin towers in 1974. It's as romantic as Gump and addictive as Future with the added interest of a biopic that is true to its history.

From the first moment we meet Petit talking to us from the top of the Statue of Liberty, and this story is about freedom if nothing else, we know we are in the presence of a man who has followed his dream and achieved it. To co-writers Zameckis and Christopher Browne must go praise for giving the Frenchmen poetic English in small doses, just enough to elevate the proceedings from nuts and bolts to heady ambition.

Those 15 minutes on the wire are as suspenseful as possible—a mark of the true auteur, who can make us worry for our hero even though we know he will survive (he does narrate after all, and some audience will remember Man on a Wire, the excellent doc from 2008). Because Zameckis knows his special effects, I was mesmerized by the shots from atop the towers to the street below. Although I don't like heights anyway, I had to look down every time in wonder at the scope of the danger to Petit.

While the Walk is about this extraordinary man, it is also a romantic eulogy to the towers, which arguably became favorites of New Yorkers after Petit's stunt. The "forever" pass to the top of the towers he receives as a reward from the city is painfully ironic considering 9/11. Because his feat was once in a lifetime, perhaps the passing of the towers reminds us that nothing lasts "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.

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.