Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlotte Le Bon, Clément Sibony, César Domboy, James Badge Dale, Steve Valentine and Ben Kingsley Directed by Robert Zemeckis Back in 2008, there was a documentary that chronicled Phillippe Petit’s audacious stunt of walking across the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. Man on Wire was a fascinating documentary and this movie is very much a dramatisation of that walk and what led to it. The movie often breaks the fourth wall by having Petit (Gordon-Levitt) introducing himself right at the beginning and personally telling his story, from atop the Statue of Liberty of all places. The narration, and Gordon-Levitt’s charm alone carries much of the movie as Petit himself is not an entirely sympathetic character, particularly once his obsession take hold. It’s almost as if he is the very representative of the arrogant Frenchman who holds himself in extremely high regard and everyone else is someone to be used, or as Petit often puts it- accomplices. The story simply takes us through the initial spark of an idea to the execution of the audacious plan, which is nothing very much from what one would already know from watching the documentary. What director Robert Zemeckis delivers is some very stylised shots throughout the movie, building to its titular climax. All of which makes this movie a wonder to behold in 3D. Zemeckis smartly uses the numerous straight lines throughout the movie to enhance the field of depth right up to the vertigo inducing finale of following Petit out onto that wire and all around it. In that, the movie earns its raison d'être. Buoyed mostly by Gordon-Levitt, the rest of the cast manage with their thinly sketched characters with perhaps Ben Kingsley having the second most fleshed out character. There is some humour among these secondary characters, but the focus is on Petit and his efforts. The production design alone is a wonder, taking us back to that bygone era of the early 70s be it Paris or New York, and Zemeckis’ team does an amazing job of evoking that era, right to the existence of the twin towers themselves. As much as it is Petit’s story, this is also a tribute to those towers at the time when they became something a little more than just a pair of architectural wonders. In all, this is something to catch on the big screen and the bigger, the better. The Walk is designed for IMAX 3D, even if the movie leading up to the event itself seemingly takes its time getting there. The drama is still well-paced and delivers a not-too-complicated narrative, despite the occasional life-story gymnastics going on. Even so, it is a cinematic marvel. Rating: (as a movie) ***1/2 / 5 Please support by buying or recommending to others. Thank you. - b
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