I have a serious love/hate relationship with The Walk. On the one hand, the last half hour is the most brilliant use of CGI and IMAX capabilities I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, the first hour-and-a-half is saccharine sweet and ridiculous, which does not do the subject even a modicum of justice.

But when all is said and done and watched, I have to say it’s worth enduring the first two thirds for the last. Just sit tight and know it gets better.

In the beginning, the premise is introduced in a perky narration by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as the remarkable Philippe Pettit. He’s the Frenchman who, with accomplices, sneeked up to the top of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers shortly after they were completed, strung up a wire between the two and proceeded to walk that wire, unbeknownst to authorities.

A guy who performs a feat like that deserves better treatment than what Gordon-Levitt and co-writer/director Robert Zemeckis give him at first. Gordon-Levitt, sounding like a gleeful Pepe le Pew, narrates from a precarious perch on the CGI torch of the Statue of Liberty. Okay, I get that Lady of Liberty was a gift from France, and so was Pettit, and from that vantage point you can see the Twin Towers, but that silly device, along with the whimsical score, set us up for a fantasy, not a real life adventure of cunning daring do.

But if you can get through the ridiculous setup without making your throat raw from groaning, you’ll be rewarded. Once Pettit gets to the top of the Towers, you’re in for some truly breathtaking action. Heaven help you if you suffer from vertigo, because if you see this film in IMAX 3D (highly recommended), you’re in danger of losing your lunch. You are RIGHT THERE with him up there. Viewers on both sides of me at the critics screening I attended were burying their faces in their hands. Even if you know the eventual outcome, as almost everyone at this point does, you will still be overwhelmed and your heart will beat like taiko drums.

This is not really the type of film you want to wait around until you can stream it at home. If you’re going to see it, see it in style on the biggest screen and wear the glasses. You will not only marvel at the special effects, but at how different times were as recently as the ’70’s. Pettit’s feat is one that could never be repeated today.

Rated PG

2 Hours 3 Minutes

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THE WALK Review — A Thin Line Between Love and Hate