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Title: The Walk (2015)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Joseph Gordon-Levitt | ... | Philippe Petit | |
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Guillaume Baillargeon | ... | Outdoor Café Man |
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Émilie Leclerc | ... | Outdoor Café Woman (as Emilie Leclerc) |
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Mark Trafford | ... | American Tourist |
| Inka Malovic | ... | Woman in Chalk Circle | |
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Lucas Ramacière | ... | Boy in Chalk Circle |
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Martin Lefebvre | ... | Gendarme |
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Philippe Bertrand | ... | Gendarme |
| Laurence Deschênes | ... | Young Girl with Candy | |
| Patricia Tulasne | ... | Dental Office Receptionist | |
| Jean-Robert Bourdage | ... | Dental Patient | |
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Sylvie Lemay | ... | Dental Patient |
| Sasha Dominique | ... | Dental Patient | |
| Soleyman Pierini | ... | Boy Petit | |
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Jade Kindar-Martin | ... | Circus High Wire Performer |
Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man - Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film, a PG-rated, all-audience entertainment for moviegoers 8 to 80, unlike anything audiences have seen before, is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, ... Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment
The Walk (2015)
*** (out of 4)
The incredible true story of high-wire walker Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who got to live his dream of crossing the Twin Towers in 1974.
THE WALK was first brought to the screen in the Oscar-winning documentary MAN ON WIRE but obviously director Robert Zemeckis saw something in the story that made him want to turn it into a feature. THE WALK was released to Luke warm reviews and it ended up dying a rather painful death at the box office but I'm going to guess that it won't be forgotten but instead fine a good cult audience somewhere down the road.
The story itself is something of complete wonder and there's no question that the documentary did a much better job at telling it. With that said, even thought the documentary is the better of the two films, this feature still offers up some impressive visuals and performances that makes it worth seeing. I didn't get to see the film in 3D so I can't comment on that but I thought Zemeckis did a wonderful job at making the viewer see and feel how high up Petit was.
The scenes certainly have a very claustrophobic feel to them and you can't help but panic yourself just wondering what you would do in a situation like that. Just reading or hearing about the story will make you wonder how a human could do it but this film gives you a great feel and idea of the terror that it would cause in most people. Gordon-Levitt gives a very good performance in the role of Petit and I especially liked how the movie didn't back down from him at times not being so likable. I thought the actor did a remarkable job getting into the role and you had no problem believing that he was the real guy.
THE WALK does contain some flaws and that includes it running on a bit too much. Everyone going into the movie knows the story so there's a rush to get to the actual walk in the movie. I thought the early stuff dragged on a bit too much and I think some editing probably would have helped things. However, once we actually get to the walk itself there's no question that the magic takes over and that alone makes the film worth sitting through.