We've been waiting to see what acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men) is going to do with his ambitious new sci-fi project Gravity, and now we have some initial opinions from those who have seen the film to share.

Scroll down to hear first impressions of Gravity, which stars Sandra Bullock as the lone survivor of a space mission, who is trying to steer her ship home to Earth, where her daughter awaits.

Here is a spattering of opinions from the test screening of Gravity, either reported by those in attendance, or collected by those who claim to have spoken to or "overheard" the reactions. Taken altogether, they paint the picture of a technically and visually stunning piece of cinema, with a good performance from Bullock (who is mostly onscreen alone) - but a movie that may be more along the indie drama line than some sci-fi expect:

From AICN's source:

This is not just next level shit, this is several levels ahead of next level shit, & quite possibly the highest level shit you could possibly make. This is like if Avatar had been released in 1927 a week after The Jazz Singer. People won’t know how to comprehend what they are seeing. In short, Gravity genuinely makes you feel like you have been to space. It really, really does. And guess what? It’s beautiful, and awe-inspiring, and profound (and a little scary too), everything you thought it would be since you first thought about going to space when you were a kid. The movie exploits dreams it knows every sentient being has had, using the best special effects I have personally ever seen. I honestly don’t know how you could enhance a cinematic experience more. I kept waiting for a cameo from the Tupac hologram.

However, some people might end up saying that Gravity ends up being too light on story & is just an expensive space roller coaster ride, ‘Space Mountain: The Movie’ if you will. But those people would be wrong, stupid & ungrateful. Gravity is an important & subtle character study wrapped up in the guise of the most technologically advanced film of the new millennium... To me the film is about apathy and isolation. It’s about people today not knowing why they should be excited about living but only knowing they don’t want to die. It’s about looking at your own insignificance in the universe (or on Earth, or at your job, or at your school, etc.) & becoming empowered by it instead of defeated. And most of all, it’s about seeing what it would be like to float through space like an astronaut (spoiler: it’s fun).

From a source who contacted The Film Experience:

Gravity is Cuarón’s masterpiece. It’s gonna be divided. Half will think it’s a self-indulgent borefest and half will think it’s amazingly brilliant. The movie is 80% just Sandra Bullock!

Reactions for two other moviegoers certainly seemed to echo that 'it will be divisive' theory:

Briana Hernandez - Worst movie ever! #gravity

David Vendrell - Went to a test-screening for “Gravity” last night…it was far from being done, but it will be a visual feast when it is…and nothing more.

Reports that Bullock will have to hold the screen on her own for most of the movie's run time - or that Cuarón was planning ambitious technical feats like a 17-minute single-take opening shot - have been upping our enthusiasm for Gravity for some time. In a lot of ways the movie seems to be in the same vein as Danny Boyle's Sunshine - which was, in itself, a visually-impressive piece of sci-fi psychodrama.

Given the skill Cuarón has shown in his past projects, count us in the camp of those who will be delighted, should the movie live up to the technical praise seen in these early reactions.

We'll find out for sure when Gravity hits theaters on November 21, 2012.

Source: Twitter, The Film Experience, AICN (hat tip to /Film)