Gravity (2013)

Most people think so. 79% of audiences gave it a thumbs up based on 16,155 votes. Critics gave it 96%.

Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer, is on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space. Wikipedia ↗

Gravity is a 2013 science fiction thriller film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts stranded in space after the catastrophic destruction of their Space Shuttle by satellite debris. Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first space mission played by Bullock, must overcome her terror and grief to navigate between damaged space stations and find a way back to Earth while her oxygen supply dwindles and debris continues to orbit at lethal velocity.

Gravity was one of the most technically ambitious films ever produced, with Cuarón and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki developing revolutionary filming techniques to create the illusion of weightlessness. The 17-minute opening shot, an unbroken continuous take that follows the astronauts through their routine maintenance before the disaster strikes, was achieved through elaborate computer-generated environments, a custom-built LED light box that surrounded the actors, and robotic camera systems that created seamless transitions between practical and digital footage. Sandra Bullock's performance, which required her to carry virtually the entire film alone inside a spacesuit, was praised as the finest of her career.

The film earned $723 million worldwide and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Director for Cuarón — making him the first Latin American filmmaker to win the prize — Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects. At only 91 minutes, Gravity was one of the shortest films to receive a Best Picture nomination, and its breathless pacing made it one of the most viscerally intense theatrical experiences of the decade. NASA astronauts praised the film's depiction of orbital mechanics and the experience of spacewalking.