Upside Down Movie Review

 Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Imagine a planetary system where there are two worlds, right next to each other, each with their own individual gravity, and everyone and everything that are born or created on one world is permanently attached and bound to that planet, constantly being pulled back, unable to venture to the other planet, though they sit right above or below.  Those are the worlds of Upside Down.  The two Worlds look at each other.  "Up Above" and "Down Below." One city is rich, the other poor.  And there is a tower that connects the two.

But this isn't a story about that.

This is a love story.

Two lovers "pulled apart by gravity" is taken quite literally. Eden (Kirsten Dunst) and Adam (Jim Sturgess)--I don't think those names were chosen by mistake--live in opposite Worlds.  Adam lives in Down Below, poor and orphaned when a large explosion, caused by Up Above, destroyed everything he loves.  Eden, from Up Above, comes from a solid background and seems to have all she needs.  The two grew up next to a mountain, and as children they meet after climbing to the peeks.  A friendship is born, and Adam would pull Eden, via rope, to his mountain peek every time they have a secret render-vous.  Their friendship is forbidden, as there are laws against having contact with those from Up Above and Down Below.  Of course things can't last.

I didn't even know about this movie until last Thursday!  My brothers and I had just posted our "Done With Gravity" music video, fitting theme, right?, when my Dad found out about this movie while looking at movie times, and that Upside Down would be leaving the theaters the next day.  We rushed down to see the movie,  and we all loved it.  That night, when one of my brothers was visiting with my sister-in-law, aka his wife, we showed them the trailer, looked at the times and realized that if they wanted to see it on the big screen we had 20 minutes to make it to Sandy UT, which would be quite the feat.  We made it!  And I saw the movie twice within 8 hrs, and I'll be buying the movie on Blu-ray.

To date the movie has only grossed $102,118 domestically and a little over 8 million Worldwide.  It's a shame.  The most beautiful movie of the year went unnoticed.  I'd drop everything right now to see it again, just so I can marvel at the creative visuals.

The only reason I didn't give this movie a 5 out of 5 is because they broke their own laws of physics.  I can suspend belief when our own physical laws are broken, but when a movie sets up their own physics, and then brakes said physics, I have a problem.  But even then I don't care!  I loved the movie that much!

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for some violence)