Written by Lara Rosales
As I sat down to watch The Gorge, I was excited about the concept of the movie. When the first creatures appeared, as someone who enjoys the likes of The Last of Us (and those creatures are eerily similar), I was anxious to see what would happen next. The idea of watching two people falling in love through the gorge while simultaneously fighting the biggest threat the world has ever seen seems like a great way to spend the night. However, the movie falls extremely short, becoming boring and predictable.
Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) should be treated as equals throughout the film, but it always feels as if he is treated as the main character and she is simply the woman he falls in love with. Even though she is at the gorge because she is just as threatening as he is, the film spends way too much time introducing his story and his side of the abysm. While we are introduced to Drasa’s father before he dies, we have no other details regarding her arrival at the East Tower. It is only through what he sees and hears her do that we end up getting to know her better. Nevertheless, that isn’t enough to give her the place she deserves in the movie. She can shoot just as well as him and fight the evil mash of plants, humans, and animals that threaten them.
What can and must be highlighted from how these two characters begin to interact is the point of view we get as viewers. By watching them through the lens of their binoculars, we are constantly reminded of the distance that exists between these two individuals. The signs they write further confirm that even though they can hear the loud music and the shrieking of the creatures, they cannot hear each other. It is through written words that they get to know one another, falling in love in what is a crazy love story.
The contrast between the silence they are living in and the music they play sets the mood perfectly for the kind of movie we are watching. Even though the storyline becomes predictable, and we can guess where it’s going, the soundtrack remains outstanding. Every track played and every sound effect chosen for the scenes makes the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly together…whether we like the image on the puzzle or not is for each of us to decide.
If The Gorge aims to feel like a video game, it only achieves its objective for a short moment when Levi and Drasa are first exploring the gorge. How they walk around holding their guns and quickly turning at every sound makes the audience feel as if they’re watching the recording of a video game. However, that feeling is short-lived, and the film quickly goes back to being the same old sci-fi action movie we expected it to be.
When Levi is first introduced to the gorge and receives the information from the soldier who came before him, the explanation feels extremely fast. It is hard for the viewer to keep up with everything being said because no real information is given. Levi is once again being told to go through with a mission that has no explanation. However, when he and Drasa find the video of the doctor who explains exactly what that place was and what happened, one can understand why the introductions and rotations were brief and ended in death.
Even with all that death surrounding them, Levi somehow manages to make it out alive. While he is late to meet Drasa, he makes it in the end. This makes sense within the boundaries of the movie, but one can’t help wonder how he survived. Not only did the gorge explode, destroying everything in its path, but he also got shot and fell down a waterfall. But of course, the hero of the movie would make it out alive.
Fans of Teller and Taylor-Joy will happily recognize the nod to their previous work (Whiplash and The Queen's Gambit). And the queer girlies will jump at the excuse to watch an evil Sigourney Weaver. But trust me, none of that is worth the two hours of boredom. The Gorge tries to do too much while simultaneously not accomplishing anything new.
Photo credits : Apple TV+
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