The reoccurring DebrisLeitmotif, for whenever the debris shows up, which sounds eerily like the Jaws leitmotif.
Esoteric Happy Ending: Despite the fact that Ryan Stone managed to make it back to Earth safely, the space program for the entire world has been set back due to Russia's screw-up, and in all likelihood prevent further space travel for decades, if not entire centuries.
Harsher in Hindsight: The disaster depicted in the film came a step closer to reality in March 2019, when India destroyed one of its satellites with a missile and produced hundreds, if not thousands, of new pieces of debris in low-Earth-orbit and beyond. Russia itself did the same in November 2021, scattering thousands of pieces of debris in an orbit that intersects that of the ISS — the crew actually had to board their return capsules in case the station took a hit and had to be abandoned.
He Panned It, Now He Sucks!: An odd one with Neil Degrasse Tyson, who actually did like the movie but still felt compelled to point out its numerous scientific errors, which many fans couldn't see past.
Inferred Holocaust: As pointed out in thisCracked article, the Kessler Syndrome portrayed in the film would disrupt or destroy much of our modern-day technological infrastructure, thus potentially causing the collapse of civilization itself. Even if that doesn't happen, the fact remains that Russia has inadvertently destroyed every single satellite and space station in orbit, killing at least four people, which will have all kinds of nasty political fallout...
Nausea Fuel: All the spinning camera shots can make a person dizzy.
Paranoia Fuel: The disaster depicted in the film is entirely possible in real life: it's called Kessler syndrome, and all it takes is two satellites colliding (or one getting blown up by a missile, as is the case is Gravity) to start the chain reaction. It could happen at any time, and many astronomers believe it's already begun. While a Kessler disaster wouldn't directly hurt us on Earth, and would take a while longer than seen in the film, anything in low-Earth-orbit is going to end up getting shredded, including the thousands of satellites needed for our technological civilization to exist, and launching new ones won't be possible for decades due to the Asteroid Thicket now hanging in orbit.
Sci Fi Ghetto: Defied. The film earned high scoring reviews from critics, became a box office smash and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, 7 of which it won (including Best Director for Cuarón). It still played straight (albeit in less degree) in Mexico, Cuaron's homeland. It also showed how pervasive this trope is - many outlets called it a science fiction film, only for others to point out that it's not. It's a Disaster Movie set in space, and aside from some Artistic Licence with the physics (glossed-over orbital mechanics, the ISS and Tiangong being virtual neighbours, etc), it's set entirely in our mundane reality.
She Really Can Act: As odd as it sounds to say about an actress with a long career before the film that included an Oscar win, many had this reaction to Sandra Bullock, as she was mostly regarded as a lightweight romantic comedy star (with said Oscar being for The Blind Side, prime Oscar Bait of the maudlin kind).
To 1995's Apollo 13, as it is a "serious" space disaster film based on current technology and starring astronauts rather than a straight sci-fi. Ed Harris even resumeshis role as Mission Control.
It could also be viewed as one to Marooned, a 1969 film involving the crew of a then-present day spacecraft getting trapped in orbit following a technical malfunction and the subsequent race to save them. Cuarón himself has cited Marooned as a major influence on his film.
Tainted by the Preview: A number of detractors and reviewers have decried the movie's "lack of scientific accuracy" based merely on the presence of sound in the trailers, and on using those same, pre-release trailers to make snap judgments about the nature of the emergency, the fact that the ISS, the Hubble, and the Tiangong are in the same orbit, or that an astronaut being flung into outer space could possibly be panicked.
Visual Effects of Awesome: This movie justifies both IMAX and 3D movie-making. It has been advised to see this movie in both formats.
by Arvo Pärt in the trailer.