It had been a while since I’d seen a classic science fiction film, so I was excited to watch Apple TV’s new original movie, “The Gorge.” The film was released Feb. 14 and has been receiving pretty good reviews from critics and audiences alike. While this wasn’t exactly the classic sci-fi movie I had in mind going in, it’s a simple and enjoyable watch.
The film follows two skilled agents, Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), who are hired to guard their respective tower on either side of “The Gorge,” a top-secret crater in the middle of nowhere that contains unknown dangers. While they are not allowed to interact with each other, they soon begin communicating to one another from across The Gorge and fall in love. However, unexpected events lead them into danger and they must rely on each other to escape.
Overall, this is a well-made film that is engaging and easy to watch, however, if you are looking for a high-quality sci-fi movie that will blow your mind, this is not that. The best way I could describe this film is a dollar store version of “The Last of Us” with some added romance.
I’d like to mention that trying to mix the sci-fi and romance genres is a lot harder than it may seem. The sci-fi genre is typically very grim and serious, while romance is usually more upbeat and cheesy. While some sci-fi films can have a bit of romance, actually merging these genres together tonally often doesn’t work, especially with this film.
The first big flaw of this movie is that the first and second halves don’t feel cohesive. It feels like the whole first half neglects the sci-fi elements, focusing mainly on the romance. Then in the second half, when the movie tries to include more sci-fi plotlines, they feel underdeveloped because not enough time was spent building the world earlier in the film.
Additionally, the sci-fi lore and action parts of the movie were not great. Part of what makes for good sci-fi is when the fictional aspects are rooted in reality, so it genuinely feels like something that could happen in the “real” world.
The film tried to do this, but I don’t think it succeeded, as its explanation for what was going on didn’t make much sense. Also, the character design for the later-revealed evil creatures looked too fantastical and unrealistic. If you compare the lore and design of these creatures to the “infected” in “The Last of Us,” you see where "The Gorge” should have gone more “realistic” and believable, therefore more frightening.
The moments of action were also a bit lackluster. It did include some good jump scares, but overall, it didn’t get my pulse rushing as much as it should have. The climax and ending fight sequences were very underwhelming, which again, made the sci-fi aspects of the plot unmemorable.
Also, despite the whole first half being focused basically only on the romance between Levi and Drasa, their relationship still felt rushed. When they were first interacting, I thought they were cute and I was excited to see where their relationship would go. But then it went from zero to 100. Suddenly, they were saying that the other person was their reason to live and that they loved each other, even though they had only been interacting in person for about a day.
On that note, I also didn’t love how Drasa was written. It felt like her character only existed to be Levi’s love interest, not to be her own character with her own plot lines and life. The main reason for this is that, despite Drasa and Levi being similarly skilled, Drasa constantly ends up being the “damsel in distress” who needs Levi to save her.
Overall, the writing felt very cheesy and clunky. Fortunately, Teller and Taylor-Joy’s performances were great, which sort of made up for the poor writing. Still, it didn’t help the plot or characters (especially since Levi is supposed to be a poetic genius).
However, I do think the cinematography was very appealing. The filmmakers included some distinctly creative and original shots that stylized the film, giving it a high-quality feeling. The score was also very good — the music was used intentionally, which made it more engaging and created some really cool moments.
I obviously have quite a bit of criticism for this film, but honestly, if you feel like watching sci-fi and you want something a little more lighthearted with a sprinkle of romance, this would be a good choice. I feel the film had a lot of potential and could have been executed much better with improved pacing and plot, but it’s still an enjoyable watch.
