Review: Although this movie is about a truly amazing event, it really didn't have to be over 2 hours long. I got a bit fed up with watching the whole planning of the event after a while but I did enjoy the mixture of characters that were in the "coup". If it wasn't for the witty script and the great performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I would have fallen asleep halfway through the film because there is way too much unnecessary material. Anyway, the film is set in 1973, were a French Street performer, Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), is making a living juggling and wire walking on the streets. During a visit to the dentist, he sees a picture of the twin towers in a newspaper and comes up with the idea to wire walk between the two buildings. As Philippe isn't making a lot of money on the streets and his father isn't impressed with his choice of work, he throws him out of the family home and he returns to the circus, were he worked as a child. He practices wire walking when no one is around, but he is caught by Papa Rudy, (Ben Kingsley), who is impressed with his juggling skills. Whilst performing on the streets, Philippe meets a fellow street performer, Annie Allix (Charlotte Le Von) and they begin a romantic relationship. After explaining to her about his plans to walk across the Twin Towers, she gives him the perfect place to practice, at her music school. Whilst training, he meets a photographer called Jean-Louis (Clement Sibony), who becomes the second member of his crew, the "coup". He then turns to Papa Rudy for guidance on knot tying and rope rigging, which he gives him for a fee and then he attempts to cross a lake but the various distractions make it hard for him to concentrate, and he ends up falling in the water. He then attempts to wire walk across the Notre Dame cathedral, which is a success but he gets arrested in the process. Jean- Louis introduces him to another accomplice who gives him the idea to use a bow and arrow tied to a fishing rod to get the line across the Twin Towers. Philippe then travels to America with Annie to check out the Twin Towers by using various disguises to get past the security. Due to the weather conditions and the fact that the top of the buildings isn't finished yet, they plan to do the walk on the 6th of August, 1974 but Philippe steps on a nail whilst scouting the building, which puts doubts in his fellow members minds. He then bumps into an insurance salesman, in the lift of one of the twin towers, who is familiar with Philippe's wire walking work and when Philippe finds out that he works near the top of the tower, he recruits him as another member of the "coup", along with an electronics salesman, J.P. and his friends Albert and David. After going over the plans, time and time again, Philippe tells the crew that he must be on the wire before the construction team arrives at 07:00 in the morning. Whilst preparing for the walk, they come across many problems on the way and they end up 3 hours behind. When the guards on the premises finally disappear, they start setting up the equipment, but they drop the heavy cable, which they have to spend time retrieving. When everything is finally up and running, Philippe starts his amazing walk across the Twin Towers. J.P. and Annie gather a crowd below, who cheer on Philippe, who has found inner peace and is thankful for getting to this position. When he finally has achieved his goal, he decides to turn back and do the walk again and he kneels to the audience and even lays down. After a while, the police arrive and he continues to walk back and forth because he is enjoying this unique moment. He manages to walk the rope, 6 times before he gets arrested on site. The police and construction workers commend him for his amazing bravery but he still has to pay for the crime, along with his trusty accomplices. When they are released from jail, Annie goes back to Paris and Philippe stays in New York, were he is given a free pass to the observation decks of both towers. Its definitely a unique storyline and the fact that Philippe done all of the wire walking without any safety, really does prove that he was in a zone of his own. The only thing that stopped Philippe from walking any further is the fact that there was a storm coming and the police helicopters were drawing close, who were fretting to cut the cable. Its just amazing that nothing went wrong! Anyway, from an entertainment point of view, it's definitely full of intensity and drama and the director done well by making it look extremely real. It really does prove that anything is possible, if you truly believe in what you want to achieve and if you give it your full commitment. Enjoyable but a bit too long!
Round-Up: This movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis, 64, who come from the Spielberg camp of film making and has made some top movies like the Back to the Future franchise, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the awful Death Becomes Her, Forrest Gump, Contact, Cast Away, Polar Express, Beowulf, a Christmas Carol and Flight with Denzel Washington. I personally think that he done a great job by bringing an unknown achievement to light and after the terrible destruction of the twin towers, it was good to see something so amazing happen while they were in operation.
Budget: $35million Worldwide Gross: $59million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/biography/dramas starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte LeBon, and Martin Lefebvre. 6/10