I don’t know if I’m alone on this, but I’d honestly never heard of daredevil Philippe Petit before watching director Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk at Boston’s West End Cinema.
The amazing true story of Petit’s 110-story high-wire walk between the now destroyed Twin Towers of The World Trade Center in 1974 New York is the basis for this adventure epic – and it’s nothing but impressive.
Don’t expect twists, bad guys and action set-pieces. The Walk is all about the Frenchman’s death-defying feat and the build-up to the moment, all beautifully realised (especially in 3D).
Almost starting like something of a caper film, we meet Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt – The Dark Knight Rises) as an aspiring entertainer back in his native France. Here, we see him morph from a street performer to somebody that wants to achieve greatness through his high-wire walking.
To achieve his lofty goal, Petit needs friends (or accomplices, as he calls them) to help get the job done.
His girlfriend Annie Allix (Charlotte Le Bon – The Hundred-Foot Journey) is the one we get to know best, but the film never really takes too much time to introduce any of the others. That doesn’t include Ben Kingsley’s Papa Rudy, a Russian expert who quite literally sells his secrets to Petit as they set about building the film’s most meaningful relationship.
Rudy isn’t part of the crew that travel to New York for The Walk, but his influence is felt in everything Petit does (making his lack of screen time all the more frustrating).
Although Gordon-Levitt does a fine job fleshing out Petit, I’ll not waste too much time on the build up, as it only really serves as the warm-up act for the grand finale: The Walk itself.
As somebody not all that enamored with heights, it’s pretty nerve-wracking stuff to watch. Quite why somebody would want to walk the tight-rope so high up in the air is beyond me, but it does go down as a truly wonderful cinematic moment.
The visuals, especially in 3D, are breathtaking. If watching Petit perform his walk isn’t gut-wrenching enough, he performs all sorts of crazy maneuvers that just defy belief.
I’ve heard a few reports of people having to leave the cinema due to feeling a little “ropey” while watching the stand-out scene.
Personally, I was more in awe of it than feeling off, but you’ll never be in any doubt quite how high up Petit was when he did his thing.
Gordon-Levitt, a fine actor, was superb as the lead. I found his French accent a little annoying at first, but that’s nit-picking.
You’ll be sure to buy into a character that is simply infectious, despite having what seem to be suicidal tendencies.
He breathes life into what is an otherwise pretty slow story, though.
Don’t get me wrong, the climax is great – but what comes before stops The Walk being a truly top notch offering.
Annie and Rudy aside, the rest of the cast are pretty forgettable. As touched upon above, the always excellent Kingsley is woefully under-utilised despite stealing every scene he’s in.
Le Bon, a fresh face to me, was a strong foil for Gordon-Levitt, although their relationship isn’t explored all that much (especially towards the end).
There is a decent cameo from James Badge Dale (Iron Man 3) in the final third, but the rest of the characters won’t last long in the memory.
Don’t let that put you off seeing The Walk at the cinema, though.
It’s another one of those films that are made for the big screen, with the end game a piece of genuinely unique cinema that you can’t help but be inspired by.
Voice Verdict: 7.5/10 (reviewed at Boston’s West End Cinema)
+ Unique scenes
+Gordon-Levitt
is brilliant
+ Spectacular
– Under-developed characters
SHOWTIMES
Boston’s West End Cinema (Fri, Oct 16 to Thurs, Oct 22)
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: GHOST DIMENSION (15)
5pm 2D (Wed), 6pm 3D (Thu)
**CRIMSON PEAK (15)
8.40pm (daily)
**PAN 2D (PG)
12.30pm (Sat/Sun/Wed/Thu), 6pm (daily), 8.30pm (daily)
**PAN 3D (PG)
10am (Sat/Sun/Wed/Thu), 3.30pm (daily)
THE WALK 2D (PG)
11.20am (Sat/Sun/Wed/Thu), 2.45pm (Fri), 3.30pm (Mon/Tue)
**SUFFRAGETTE (12A)
10.10am (Sun), 12.30pm (Sat/Sun/Thu), 2.30pm (Wed), 3pm (not Mon/Wed), 3.45pm (Mon), 6pm (daily), 8.30pm (daily)
REGRESSION (15)
12.20pm (Wed/Thu), 6pm (not Mon/Wed/Thu)
**HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 2D (U)
10.15am (Sat/Sun/Wed/Thu), 2pm (not Mon), 4.20pm (daily), 6.30pm (daily)
**HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 3D (U)
12.40pm (Sat/Sun/Wed/Thu)
THE MARTIAN (12A)
11.40am 2D (Wed/Thu), 2.30pm 3D (not Mon), 5.30pm 2D (not Thu, 8.25pm 3D (daily)
THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS 2D (12A)
2.45pm (Sat/Sun/Wed/Thu)
LEGEND (18)
8.20pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Tue)
KIDS’ CLUB
Sat/Sun/Wed/Thu 10.30am – Minions 3D (U)
SILVER SCREEN
Wed 11.30am – The Martian (12A)
** DENOTES FREE LIST SUSPENDED
