Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Director:

Andy Wachowskis & Lana Wachowskis

Starring:

Channing Tatum

Mila Kunis

Eddie Redmayne

Plot:

In a bright and colorful future, a young destitute caretaker gets targeted by the ruthless son of a powerful family who lives on a planet in need of a new heir, so she travels with a genetically engineered warrior to the planet in order to stop his tyrant reign.

Review:

First off, I thought the score was amazing. More movies need full scores.

Now onto the rest.

I was really looking forward to this movie because I love the Wachowskis. The last time I doubted them, they brought me Cloud Atlas, and that is one of my top ten movies. So I tried to ignore all the negative reviews I was seeing for Jupiter.

Honestly, I didn’t hate the movie, but it is not one of my favorite. I thought it was merely ok.

The first fight scene was fine, though I thought they cut too often to people’s faces and didn’t show the action as well as I would like. It wasn’t shaky cam it was editing. My husband says they wanted to highlight the fact that the actors did their own stuff, to which I say, I don’t care, I want to see action, not close ups.

There were several jumps in the story, where I guess they ran out of time and assumed the viewer could figure it out. When they did this it took me out of the movie while I figured out an explanation for what was going on. I found that to be incredibly frustrating.

I hated the romance between Kane, Tatum, and Jupiter, Kunis. I thought it was completely unnecessary and they could have easily cut it and filled out all the places that they jumped over.

I didn’t mind the casting, though, Tatum was not my favorite. I thought Kunis was able to pull off regal well, but I disliked the fact that Kane was always saving her. That being said I thought she handled the last fight well enough. Balem, Eddie Redmayne, the main bad dude, wasn’t someone I enjoyed either. His low voice at times was hard to hear. I understand that him yelling was supposed to show his uncontrollable temper, but I thought he could still do that without talking so low all the time.

I did not like the ending. The movie was on such a grand scale. Universes and planets and corporations that last a millennium. All that, and the ending is her on those stupid gravity boots flying through the Chicago skyline with her new boyfriend. Talk about anticlimactic.

Not my favorite movie and I thought there was a lot wrong, however, the world that was created was incredibly interesting and I would love to know more. Also, and it bears repeating, amazing score.

2.75/5