The Gorge

Directed by Scott Derrickson, The Gorge follows two elite snipers (Miles Teller’s Levi and Anya Taylor-Joy’s Drasa) as they’re tasked with guarding opposite sides of the enormous title locale. Filmmaker Derrickson, armed with a screenplay by Zach Dean, delivers a mostly watchable yet distressingly erratic endeavor that fares best within its mysterious, ingratiating first half, as the picture benefits from an opening stretch that focuses on the appealing dynamic and romantic tension between Teller and Taylor-Joy’s respective figures – with the impact of this stretch heightened by the actors’ top-notch efforts. (It is, as such, easy enough to look past the almost incongruously sappy bent of Levi and Drasa’s scenes together.) There’s little doubt, then, that The Gorge‘s overall effect is diminished by a flabby midsection rife with less-than-gripping CGI battles and action sequences, and while certain portions of this are admittedly quite thrilling, it’s ultimately impossible to escape the feeling that the movie could (and should) have been seriously streamlined (ie 127 minutes is nothing short of absurd for this material) – thus confirming its place as a decent-enough genre exercise elevated by its first-class performances.

**1/2 out of ****