Directed By Scott Derrickson

Starring – Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver

The Plot – Two highly-trained operatives (Teller, Taylor-Joy) are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast and highly classified gorge, protecting the world from an undisclosed, mysterious evil that lurks within. They bond from a distance while trying to stay vigilant in defending against an unseen enemy. When the cataclysmic threat to humanity is revealed to them, they must work together in a test of both their physical and mental strength to keep the secret in the gorge before it’s too late

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, brief strong adult language, some suggestive material and thematic elements

The Gorge — Official Trailer | Apple TV+

POSITIVES

Once in a while, a straight to streaming movie will drop on one of these platforms that demands to be seen on the big screen, and “The Gorge” is certainly no exception, with its combination of genre-blending execution and creative mystique that seemingly has something compelling for every side of the audience demographic. This begins with an opening hour that amply takes its time setting up the romance and characterization of these respective protagonists, in order for the audience to invest in what they’re continuously fighting for, with two people from contrasting worlds shrouded in secrecy forced to open up and trust one another, despite neither of them truly grasping the stakes and circumstances of what they’re guarding. Considering Derrickson’s direction revels in the air of ambiguity that continuously hangs over this engagement like a dark and foreboding fog, those moments of dynamic building between these two characters were among the single greatest highlights of the movie for me personally, not only with great chemistry between Teller and Taylor-Joy that stems from the uniqueness of their career path similarities, but also in that trust being defined so exceptionally so that they can each conjure answers from one another’s experiences at this desolate setting. Beyond the first hour, the film then becomes everything from a science-fiction survive the night to a political thriller with some unforeseen directions and details in the conflict that I truly wasn’t expecting, which in turn kept me firmly invested throughout a two hour run time that easily could’ve overstayed its welcome. What I love about the reveals in this script is that even though we know something sinister lurks deep below these respective towers, the investigation into such uncovers unsettling realities about real world histories that feel like a horror movie in itself, and with seemingly non-stop ammunition-rattling action intensity that pops up every fifteen minutes, Derrickson is able to maintain the urgency and overwhelming vulnerability of his characters sifting through something bigger and deeper than either of them could ever imagine, alongside computer-generated creature designs that were surprisingly every bit influential as they were believable. Without spoiling too much for this section, there’s a real uniqueness in look and versatility for these creatures that made them feel original, despite “The Gorge” mirroring so many other movie set-ups, and considering the entirety of the movie is given this ominously grey color pallet to its presentation, helps it to seamlessly hide the strings of artificiality that would otherwise be detected with their abruptly unorthodox movements. None of this surprises me with a hardened veteran of a director like Derrickson, who not only confidently revels in the aforementioned air of ambiguity that at least initially drives the intrigue of the audience before he appraises value to his characters, but also the articulation in atmosphere that has him seeking out the dynamic duo of composers, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who have scored academy praise in everything from “The Social Network” to “Gone Girl”, to “Challengers”. Once again, Reznor and Ross simultaneously channel themes that both feel like something underneath their moodily anxious wheelhouse, while also inspiring something that feels so different from anything else they’ve inspired in their careers to this point, and though they unfortunately have to share screen time with some soundtrack choices that compromise all of the loneliness and dread that their compositions elicit, the film is at its most adrenalized when they’re left to audibly echo such overwhelming instances when the odds are against these operatives. Speaking of those fresh-faced assassins, both Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy do such a bang-up job with their respective portrayals, with the former stoically embodying such unflinching confidence to his role as a marksman, and the latter radiating a lively fun infectiousness for personality that proves she’s so much more than just those boldly brooding eyes that could burn a hole in anyone she comes into contact with. Separately, the two are compelling enough with their actions to faithfully carry their own movies, but the film is so much better whenever they share the screen simultaneously, making it all the easier to not only invest in their bonding love as something endearingly worth fighting for, but also the single greatest dependency to date for each actor, as they only share screen time with two other speaking-credited actors throughout the film.

NEGATIVES

That seems like a good place to transition into the weaknesses of “The Gorge”, as wasting Sigourney Weaver in a thankless role that she played in “Cabin in the Woods” is entirely unforgiveable. Part of me is forgiving for the fact that this movie is so evidentially built on the isolated dynamic of Teller and Taylor-Joy, leaving so little room of opportunity for Weaver to revel in the dark and deceitful character she undertakes, but her character’s personality or demeanor never expands, even when we start to learn more of the secrets about this daring mission, and considering you’re having the queen of science fiction films simply stand by and soak up screen time with conventional dialogue that you’ve heard from every government type in these movies, it’s a criminalized shame that Derrickson couldn’t find something more for her to do, especially considering an inevitable confrontation essentially never comes to fruition, leaving the typical third act explanation far from this movie’s grasp. Beyond the disappointment of Sigourney, I also found “The Gorge” to be one of those movies that’s better the less you truly think about it. I make that proclamation because even after finishing the film, I’m left with quite a few plot holes and logic leaps that made it difficult to invest in the set-ups of this particular world, where only two people are asked by monumental nations like the United States and Russia to guard such an immense hole in the ground. If you can get by that circumstance, the need to have their tower stations directly across from one another will provide difficulty, especially considering the gorge between them is so immense that neither of them can simply walk from one tower to the other. So what happens if a creature climbs up to areas they’re not scouting? Is the hanging ammunition literally everywhere in the canyon? How much arsenal does that take? Who fills that up in between yearly scouts? Are these creatures only able to climb whenever our characters are awake? Why are there no attacks or compromises while they’re sleeping? These are just a few of the concentration breaks without spoilers that I couldn’t overcome during my engagement, proving them to be too stupid or simply unaddressed for me to overlook, and without question the film’s single biggest flaw despite all of its various appeals. Finally, despite my continued interests to the expanding narrative, I found the third act to revel in exposition-heavy dialogue and conveniences that led to one of the more rushed climaxes that I’ve experienced this year. Even with a film clocking in at two hours, it never feels like enough time or impacting circumstance are donated to allowing the audience to coherently interpret every motivation during the resolution, and it leads to such an underwhelming confrontation that feels like Weaver and these two characters were never on-set at the exact same time, with this resolution attacked at such a long-distance and sprawling interaction that never felt personally rewarding to me.

OVERALL
“The Gorge” ascends to higher heights than a majority of most contemporary streaming releases, but never loses its footing, as a result of the impeccable aim of Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy appraising such a believably compelling romance with all of the circumstantial sparks between them. Despite the flaws of a script that never attempts to attack the leaps in logic with its gimmick that are, at times, downright absurd, as well as a tragically wasted use of Sigourney Weaver, the film is a genre-blending, heart-warming mash-up for the Valentine’s Day holiday, with something ideal for everyone seeking mindless escapism.

My Grade: 7.1 or B