Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon; directed by Robert Zemeckis; 123 minutes; PG for thematic elements involving perilous situations, and for some nudity, language, brief drug references and smoking.

French tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire stroll between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center is solid gold film material. It was death-defying. It was illegal. It was one of the 20th century’s greatest works of art.

Like Petit’s stratospheric ballet, James Marsh’s exuberant 2008 documentary “Man on Wire” set the bar sky-high and reached the goal. “Man on Wire” won the documentary Oscar, and for years since it has made me eager to see a big-budget Hollywood take on Petit’s amazing midair stroll.

Now it has arrived. I’d love to say that I was delighted by Robert Zemeckis’ “The Walk” from start to finish. But I can’t. Not that I was disappointed. Simply underwhelmed.

The tone here is innocuous, forgettable fun. In real life, Petit was a flawed, edgy narcissist. In the new version (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt in a Gallic accent and Windex-blue contact lenses) he is different from a standard action hero and stock good guy largely by being exceptionally cute. He introduces us to the story by speaking to the camera on the torch of the Statue of Liberty, a flashback to a time when the Twin Towers were still the skyline’s summit.

Zemecki tells the story with lots and lots of added sugar. As he moves the story forward, rushing to establish a whole host of characters and situations, he returns us again and again to the charming Petit on top of Lady Liberty, addressing us about the next plot twist. No worries, folks; while this quixotic undertaking is danger-filled, not much is actually at stake.

In the final 25 minutes we gaze down 110 digitally created floors while Petit walks, kneels and dances on the high wire. That is by far the deepest thing in the film.

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune