The Walk (PG)

MORE than 40 years ago – long before the tensions of the post 9/11 world – the World Trade Center was a gleaming monument to a prosperous New York.

At 1,362ft high, the 110-storey Twin Towers sat among the clouds and became an iconic part of the city that never sleeps.

But when French street performer Philippe Petit saw the skyscrapers in a magazine article he had a dream.

He wanted to cross the 'void' between the two towers on a high wire – a daring stunt he vowed to complete despite describing the task as 'impossible'.

It is an amazing true story and Back To The Future director Robert Zemeckis's dramatisation of those events still inspires 42 years later.

Anyone familiar with Petit's story – which was the subject of the acclaimed documentary Man on Wire – will know what to expect but it loses none of its drama because of this. It completely draws you in.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excellent as the charismatic and charming but eccentric and single-minded Petit. Incredibly, he was actually trained to walk the rope for the film by Petit himself.

The story largely focuses on Petit's mission to put together a team of conspirators over six years for 'le coup'.

So you learn how he met his team, how he trained and how he duped construction and security teams to get to the top of the tower.

There are moments of comedy and at times the film feels like a larger than life caper – you have to remind yourself that this actually happened.

But there is also a bit of Petit's backstory with a standout performance from Ben Kingsley as his old circus mentor Papa Rudy.

The Walk is a genuinely inspiring film about following your dreams and a homage to the Twin Towers long before the terrorist attacks.

DAVID MORGAN