Want to hear more from the actors and creators of your favorite shows and films? Subscribe to The Cinema Spot on YouTube for all of our upcoming interviews!
Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
The Gorge is the latest feature film from director Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Doctor Strange, The Black Phone) and marks somewhat of a departure from his usual horror fare. The Gorge is written and produced by Zach Dean (The Tomorrow War, Fast X). It’s described as a blend of action, sci-fi, horror, and romance. As per Apple Press, the synopsis of the film is as follows.
Two highly-trained operatives (Miles Teller and Anya 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.
Apple Press
While the film attempts to operate in many different genre spaces, it never quite fully succeeds at any of them. However, The Gorge is not a complete failure thanks to its two strong leading actors: Miles Teller (Whiplash, Top Gun: Maverick) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, Furiousa: A Mad Max Saga).
A Solid Romance
The Gorge tries to be a lot of different things, but at its core, it’s a romance between lonely snipers. Levi (Teller) is a down-on-his-luck former Marine without anything going on in his life before being assigned the highly classified gorge mission. Similarly, Drasa (Taylor-Joy) is a Lithuanian sniper assigned by her government on the same mission.
Unfortunately for Teller, Levi is pretty lifeless, and even as the film goes on and he gets more personality, it’s all just so bland. Though, Teller does his best to make Levi feel somewhat like a real character and person. Levi just falls into the typical trappings of the stoic soldier archetype. Ultimately, the movie doesn’t make too much effort to do anything unique with it.
On the other hand, Taylor-Joy is having a lot of fun as Drasa. The character is overall just about as generic as Levi. Yet, she can at least explore different emotions and avenues compared to Levi, and as viewers will see, that is reflected in Taylor-Joy’s performance. There is a deep sadness in the character, but she doesn’t let it weigh her down. She’s allowed to have fun, to be expressive, and badass.
Levi and Drasa’s Dynamic
Most importantly, these two characters do have good chemistry. This makes their romance all the more believable. The moment they go on their first date is easily the highlight of the film. It’s fun and charming, and both actors really just get to have a good time. The movie is at its best when it’s more focused on these two and their relationship with all the mystery box details in the background. A mystery box is usually a high-concept sci-fi project designed around slowly unveiling a central mystery. It often involves multiple converging plots, although it is not always this way.
Generic Plot
Without diving too much into the story, unraveling the mystery of what’s in the titular Gorge is central to the film. However, the answers can be a bit uninspired. Structurally, the first half of the film is far more entertaining. Watching Levi and Drasa get to know each other is fun and quite cute, even if it is a little generic. That is not to mention that the set-up to the central mystery is quite engaging. This is often the case for many mystery box shows (e.g. The X-Files, Lost, Heroes, Westworld, Yellowjackets, From) and movies (e.g. Cloverfield, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens). While it’s easy to set something up, the payoff is always far trickier.
As the film progresses, and more is revealed, it becomes harder to remain invested. This is especially true as the stakes rise beyond the characters’ survival. Thankfully, the film makes the smart choice to largely keep the focus on Levi and Drasa, along with their relationship. In another world, there is a place where The Gorge is just a romantic drama about these two characters without all the extra genre trappings, and the film would be better for it.
Also, the film does try to make a larger social critique about the military-industrial complex. Yet, that feels like such an afterthought, one that has been done better countless times elsewhere.
Lifeless Look
Perhaps, the biggest failing of The Gorge is its look and overall art direction. Despite packing some seriously impressive talent behind the camera, The Gorge resembles almost any other streaming show or movie. The lighting all feels very flat, making everything look so uncinematic and more like television than it should. That is not to mention the color or lack thereof, is just not pleasing to the eyes.
It’s a real shame as Derrickson and the director of photography, Dan Lausten (Mimic, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water, the John Wick franchise), have worked on some gorgeous films in the past, and none of that shows here. The camera work is competent and at times engaging. However, all the spy aspects are bland and unremarkable, and all the sci-fi elements feel like poor pastiches of better films. The closest comparison is that The Gorge looks similar to a million third-person shooter video games from the PlayStation 3 generation.
The Verdict on The Gorge
Ultimately, The Gorge is a B-movie with its big goofy premise. With that said, the film isn’t trashy enough to do it justice, and at the same time, it’s not smart enough to subvert it. It falls into a weird middle ground. The two leads do their best to elevate and carry the material. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to make The Gorge anything more than another mediocre streaming film.
Score: 3/5
The Gorge streams via Apple TV+ starting today, February 14th!
Be sure to check back with The Cinema Spot for more action, sci-fi, horror, and romance reviews! And check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Letterboxd pages!
Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.