Review of The Walk (2015) by Ozzy Y — 08 Oct 2015

The Walk does try to test the limit of vertigo and the fear of height, but in order to get there; Robert Zemeckis does deliver a well-balanced biographical drama, highlighting performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and some unnecessary narrations. The plot follows a high wire artist Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his desire of walking across the wire for show. His obsession grows even more, when he wants to achieve a higher goal of walking the wire between the world trade center, which he will face danger if he makes one bad step while reaching the final step of following his dream.

Robert Zemeckis did well in making the biographical film as fun as it can be, showing the first act of Petit in France and his small public shows, then the second act of Petit arriving in New York as he gathers his accomplices to set up a plan of sneaky on the world trade center. The second act was a lot of fun, as they plan from figuring out how to get the wire lines across the buildings, to setting up everything at a short time window. It has that heist movie feel during those moments, while his friends are starting to question his obsession that is slowly taking over his mind. The third act spends like 20 or so minutes of Petit, setting up the wires and walking on it, the scene is visually stunning with the effects and does create some breathtaking suspense.

The Walk does suffer from some terrible narrations of Petit breaking the fourth wall barrier, discussing with the audience, his thoughts, and every single minor action detail like the audience cannot figure out the common sense on what the characters are doing. The film could have had a better pace if the narration was trimmed out of the movie, cause it is what made a possible good film into an okay one. The other issue is during the climax of the film; Robert Zemeckis took too much time, focusing on all the minor details, as Petit and his friends are trying to set up the wiring. It is like showing every single step on film, on how to set up a high wire on the towers, and avoiding the security guards. The film does have its cheesy moments; all while trying to either bring in a comic relief or trying to make it fun.

The Walk is a fair drama film, it could have been better without the annoyances of the narrative storytelling direction, but it tried to be fun.