Levi (Miles Teller) is a much sought after American sniper/assassin. Now employed by Bartholemew (Sigourney Weaver) for a job she believes is ideal for his skill set. After a secret flight to an unknown destination, he is dumped for a year by an elaborate guard tower overlooking a deep gorge. Opposite is a similar guard tower on its other side. The man he is replacing shows him what the set up is, then leaves. But unbeknownst to Levi his predecessor is murdered before boarding the helicopter meant to be taking him home.
Dasha (Anya Taylor-Joy) is Levi's opposite number in the other tower. Through boredom she strikes up a conversation via a flip chart with Levi. Both wonder quite what it is they are defending, until the distant groans from the gorge manifest as bizzare human-planet hybrids that mount an assault upon the towers. Their interest in each other grows until Levi decides to take a risk and devise a way for him to cross the gorge, just to spend time talking with Dasha person to person. And it is this moment when both their romance and the shit really starts to take off.
The Gorge has a slow building tension, which I thought might not sustain itself through to the end of the movie. But actually it does, and though it has plot developments you can see coming a mile off, it is a quietly effective movie that doesn't squander any of its 127 minutes.
There are a few plot devises that stretch credibility. Depending on your level of tolerance for such things, you may decide to abort, head held in hands, at these points. There is no way the high-wire that Levi travels across the gorge on, could be single handedly made taught enough across such a wide span for him to zip wire along it. At one point they discover celluloid film stock that is supposed to be decades old, and yet still plays in a projector without fragmenting or melting. Likewise when they find a working computer screen. Both of these inform you of all you need to know about what is really going on in the gorge, in a matter of a few minutes. Its narrative convenience aside, at least these were polished off with matter of fact briskness.
There is a good chemistry between Teller and Joy. It's also great to see how handsomely buff Teller has now become. Now he is finally allowed to be middle aged, and not your perpetual teenager or not a very nice guy, he makes a believable romantic lead. The Gorge is, in the end, despite all the caveats about cliches and clunky plot devices, its a half decent movie and I quite enjoyed it.
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