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ON THE WIRE — In addition to this week's highly anticipated release of "The Martian" another film is headed to the big screen, and when I say the big screen I mean to the really big screen.
"The Walk" retells the story of high-wire walker Philippe Petit and his dream to hang his wire across the Twin Towers in New York and make a walk that no one would ever forget.
The film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a spectacle and worth the watch, but there is one thing that kept pulling me out of the world of "The Walk" and keeping me from really loving the film. We'll get to that later. First, let's talk about why the movie is worth watching.
The story
The film is based on the book "To Reach the Clouds," written by Petit. A documentary was also made titled "Man on Wire," based on the book in 2008.
Why has there been a book, a documentary and now a film made out of this story? Because it's truly incredible.
In 1974, Petit pulled together a small group and planned to sneak into the Twin Towers, rig a high wire in the middle of the night and then walk across it in the morning. The antics of Petit and his crew are played off like a heist film in "The Walk," and it keeps the atmosphere, fun, engrossing and often filled with tension.
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Art & Entertainment
Looking for news about local music, art, cultural events or for movie reviews that have Utah's values in mind? Check out KSL.com's Arts & Entertainment section.The first part of the film chronicling Petit's backstory can be slow at times as we ramp up to the "crime" itself, but that's not to say it's not still enjoyable.
A new perspective
Director Robert Zemeckis gives the audience the opportunity that only high-wire walkers get: a glimpse of what it's like to be on the wire.
Before now, our view of these acrobats has been from the ground with our necks craned up to see the action, in "The Walk" Zemeckis puts us on the wire, above the wire and pretty much everywhere else imaginable.
In IMAX, it's often times breathtaking to look down from the wire at New York City below, and it gives us the tiniest peek into what Petit must have seen that day in August.
If for nothing else "The Walk" is worth a watch due to the experience of wire walk alone.
Problems: CG madness
Zemeckis has made some incredible films like "Forrest Gump," "Cast Away," "What Lies Beneath" and one of my personal favorites, "Back to the Future." As of late, however, Zemeckis has caught a bit of what I like to call the George Lucas bug.
Zemeckis has fallen in love with the computer graphics of the CG world, and it can get distracting in "The Walk."
It's clear that a number of the shots had to be done through computer and movie magic because I don't think Gordon-Levitt was about walk out onto a wire suspended more than a thousand feet in the air. The actual wire walk isn't the problem, however. In an effort to give the audience some unique shots Zemeckis utilizes some distracting CG effects that pulled me right out of the movie.
Some of these effects were so jarring and blatantly fake that it took me a few minutes to get back into the groove of the movie and start enjoying myself again.Conclusion
Even though "The Walk" can be a bit corny at times and the CG distracting, it's still an entertaining film worth the price of admission to see it in IMAX.
"The Walk" is rated PG for a minimal amount of language and brief, obscured nudity. The scene I'm speaking of is in no way sexual and more comical, serving an actual purpose to the story.
John has been writing about movies, news, sports and pretty much anything awesome for more than five years. John is the co-host of the Flix Junkies podcast and will always entertain you with his stories.
