Review of The Walk (2015) by Brett B — 07 Dec 2015

Robert Zemeckis continues his eclectic (and rather underrated) 21st century output with THE WALK, a charming and - at times - even whimsical true life tale. It's a truly remarkable story, handled with a lightness of touch which emphasizes warmth and humanity at all times.

In some respects, it feels not unlike some of the breezy international caper films of the '60s and '70s, and its overall vibe is incredibly appealing. The first half of the movie is pleasant enough, but it's the second half where things really start cooking; the planning of and buildup to the titular event is captivating stuff, but even that is just a prelude to the actual event itself, which is spectacularly staged.

It's a sequence that is both frightening and exhilarating, and it ranks as one of the greatest single sections of film that Zemeckis has yet filmed. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the center of the film, being in every scene, and he's so full of life that it's infectious (his accent may not be flawless, but your ear quickly acclimates to it); he captures the playful spirit of the real man perfectly.

The production design is aces, nicely recreating early 1970s Paris and New York, and the visual effects are strikingly effective in the way they place the audience right on the wire - over 1,000 feet in the air - with JGL.

The movie is good, clean fun, but more than that, it's a salute to performance and artistic ambition, and it also exists as a deeply earnest love letter to the World Trade Center towers themselves.