The Walk Review:
Magnifique
BY IAN
TAN
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| Dream high indeed |
The Walk tells
the tale of French wire-walker Philippe Petit’s famous walk between the Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and
spearheaded by the always-likable Joseph Gordon-Levitt, The Walk is directed and acted with great panache and stylistic
visual grace, all while telling a simple but engrossing story.
Gordon-Levitt plays Petit with great charisma and an impressive
French accent, portraying the wire-walker as a slightly eccentric, smart and
sometimes humourous individual. The rest of the cast serve up
fine performances without overshadowing the film’s main protagonist while
adding some neat dialogue exchanges throughout the film. César Domboy is especially funny as Jeff,
Philippe’s accomplice that has a severe fear of heights, and the ever-reliable Ben Kingsley pops in for a minor but memorable role as Papa Rudy, Philippe's mentor.
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| Pre-production |
As charming as the
performances go, The Walk’s main
attraction is undoubtedly its titular sequence and the visuals that help bring
it to life. Speaking of visuals, I must say that The Walk features the most breathtaking 3D shots I have
ever seen on film. It would be a crime not to see this film in the third
dimension. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to experience this in IMAX 3D, but I can
only imagine how much more that would make my stomach churn. Dariusz Wolski’s
cinematography is top notch and I sincerely hope he gets an Oscar nomination
for his work on this film. It’s a gorgeous looking movie.
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| C'est la vie |
As for shortcomings, The Walk’s brisk pacing and snappy,
effective editing cause certain story threads and supporting characters’
involvements in the plot to be compromised, and seem to downplay the supporting
characters’ real-life contribution into making Philippe’s walk happen.
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| More vertigo inducing than any 'Mission: Impossible' stunt |
The Walk certainly isn’t Zemeckis’ best work (I mean, it’s not an
easy task to beat classics like Back to
the Future and Forrest Gump), but
it's still an impressive albeit simple story that’s bolstered by incredible
visuals and the best use of 3D in film since Avatar. Minor shortcoming’s aside, Zemeckis’ big screen adaptation
of Philippe Petit’s astounding feat is certainly a cinematic experience worth
seeing on the largest 3D screen you can find.
Final Verdict
The Walk gets 7.4 out of 10 stars - Give IMAX your money now.
