Defying gravity

Assessing the heights (and depths) of this year’s most dizzying films. Altitude sickness pills at the ready!

AD ASTRA 40,000M ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Brad Pitt put Felix Baumgartner in his place when he tumbled from the ‘International Space Antenna’ in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. He somehow remained conscious — and still looked damn cool.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 12,000M ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Before she jetted off around space with her Kree superpowers, Carol Danvers was a US Air Force fighter pilot, who thought nothing of Mach 1 speeds and mocked gravity. A superhero before and after.

SPIES IN DISGUISE 1,800M ABOVE SEA LEVEL

You’ve seen Will Smith as a cowboy, a fish, a genie — now, finally, you can see him as a pigeon. The former Fresh Prince voices a spy who morphs into pigeon, which can hit altitudes of 1,800m or more.

THE AERONAUTS 10,000M ABOVE SEA LEVEL

In the 1860s, scientist James Glaisher broke the altitude world record in a hot air balloon. Eddie Redmayne is playing him in the film. Guaranteed to be in the top five best balloon-based thrillers of 2019.

HOBBS & SHAW 225M ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Hobbs and Shaw have never seen a skyscraper they didn’t want to drive through, blow up or jump off. They choose the latter for London’s ‘Cheesegrater’ — the stage for this year’s funniest vertical chase.

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS 200M BELOW SEA LEVEL

In the real world, Antarctica is home to a few penguins. In Warners’ Monsterverse, it’s home to a dormant Titan, the three-headed Ghidorah. Think we’d prefer the penguins.

ABOMINABLE 8,000M ABOVE SEA LEVEL

An adorable kids’ film about yetis that doesn’t go into the real conditions of the Himalyas: altitude sickness, melting glaciers, 100mph winds and -60°C temperatures. The children need to be told the truth.

UNDERWATER 11,000M BELOW SEA LEVEL

Kristen Stewart heads back to blockbusters with a dip into an aquatic laboratory, which is hit by an earthquake (and maybe more?). At 10,000 metres below where light can penetrate, she has a tough task.