(dir. The Wachowskis)
Warner Bros. Pictures |
“I will harvest that planet tomorrow, before I let her
take it from me.”
Jupiter
Ascending is batshit crazy, the kind of crazy that makes Star Wars look like a product of realism.
In The Wachowskis latest science-fiction endeavor, we learn that the Earth
(along with all other planets containing life) has been “seeded” with the
genetic material of alien royal families. At the center of the film is Jupiter
Jones (Mila Kunis), a housemaid who, after being abducted by aliens, learns
that she has the same genetic code of a deceased alien queen who held
ownership over the Earth. With the aide of genetically spliced, exiled royal
soldiers, Caine (Channing Tatum), and Stinger (Sean Bean), Jupiter must prevent
the earth from falling into the hands of the former matriarch’s children, Balem
(Eddie Redmayne), Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), and Titus (Douglas Booth). Trust me when I tell you that this brief synopsis doesn’t
even begin to cover all the zany plot intricacies of the film.
While the central story is easy to follow, and far
less philosophically and scientifically complex than The Matrix Trilogy or Cloud
Atlas, The Wachowskis still can’t resist stuffing the film with details. There’s
a lot of exposition used to set up the universal hierarchy that the film’s plot
revolves around. A lot of these details come too quickly to fully digest on an
initial viewing and some of the political structures and clauses seem
purposefully wordy and overly complex. Despite the fact that not every detail sticks, and some of the made
up words sound comically arbitrary, The Wachowskis craft a fully fleshed out universe for their film. I mean, there’s literally enough alien races, space
crafts, political relationships, backstories, and Soylent Green-level twists to fill seven seasons of any
high-concept sci-fi show.
The cast seems to have had a blast making this film,
and it shows in every single performance. Not a single one of them seems afraid
of looking silly (and with a number of supporting characters as animal-human
hybrids, it’s nearly impossible not to look silly). Eddie Redmayne is finally
able to break out of his Oscar-season glow with a scenery-chewing performance that
he delivers in a husky whisper that occasionally shifts into abrasive yelling
like he’s got some kind of space tourettes. While Mila Kunis’ personality makes
her a solid hero, it also makes her seem less out of her element than the story
needs her to be. There are some moments in Jupiter’s character evolution and
her romantic relationship with Caine, where you can tell that the film’s length was
cut in the editing room. Part of this could also be attributed to the
almost fairy tale portrayal of romance that The Wachowskis have in this film (not
unlike the six month, ‘I’ll love you forever’ relationship between Neo and
Trinity in The Matrix series). Still
with such a cast amassed, it’s a shame that the film couldn’t run longer to give
them all a little more to explore, both in terms of character and concept.
On the technical side of things, The Wachowskis haven’t
lost any of their skill in crafting imaginative action scenes. There are some
truly impressive battles in this film, and while some have criticized the
film’s high budget, you can see every penny of it on screen. The designs are
just incredible, each one a work of art. While there’s nothing as cinematically
transformative as “bullet-time,” Caine’s air boots are pretty stellar and
contribute to some great fight scenes. All of this dazzling effects work is set
to an adrenaline pumping score by Michael Giacchino that borrows a few notes
from his fantastic Star Trek score.
The Wachowskis go all out with the technical wizardry of this film, as if they made their last big-budget feature ever. Sadly, they very well may have.
While so many big-budget films are made dour by
directors who want their film to be the epitome of seriousness, The
Wachowskis embrace the pulp nature of their film. It’s as if they spun a drug store book
rack containing the most absurd, science-fiction novels of the 60s and 70s, and
plucked the strangest, and cheesiest, details from each, in order to create something that
feels refreshing. It’s disappointing that the film’s box office results have
ensured The Wachowskis won’t get to make their proposed trilogy of Jupiter Jones’
story. Regardless, I celebrate the film they made and if this was truly
their last big-budget hurrah, they sure went out in style.
Grade: B+
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