The Wachowski’s new space opera “Jupiter Ascending” is a considerable oddity, both while you’re watching it and maybe even more so while you’re thinking about it later. These siblings have always been known for making up grand mythologies such as the “Matrix” trilogy and their head-scratching, multi-segmented portmanteau film “Cloud Atlas,” but here their brew of classic sci-fi tropes and fairy-tale storytelling devices mixes together in a way that is somehow tired and baffling at the same time.
Much
of the story is essentially a Cinderella retelling, placed in an overwrought, Flash Gordon-like movie universe. Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a
second-generation Russian immigrant who cleans toilets for a living but wishes to
someday be an astronomer. After her lay-about cousin convinces her to visit a clinic to
donate her eggs for money, her physicians reveal themselves to be large-headed aliens sent to
kill her. Just then, Cain Wise (Channing Tatum), a genetically modified
angel/alien bounty hunter, comes in to bring her to the House of Abrasax--the galactic royal family who
broker our part of the universe. As it turns out, Jupiter is more important
than she realizes and one of these princes will need to wed her in order to have
full access to earth’s precious resources. Of course, more is introduced,
including a rebel group out to undermine the galactic royalty--yes, there’s a
lot of “Star Wars” in here as well—Shakespearean betrayals, and some eastern philosophy about reincarnation and bees.
This
is definitely a Wachowski event through and through and there’s a lot of
passion and vigor in the film-making, but it’s almost completely lost in heaps
of weird ideas that are unsupported by unfinished motifs and a heavy amount of
hum-drum, explanatory dialogue. I wish I could say that a film featuring dragon-people,
galactic weddings, and Channing Tatum swooping around in flying Zanadu-skates would either be
crazy-good or crazy-bad, but the truth is everything here is so plot-heavy and
labored that it’s never as much fun as it should be. The sets and costumes are lavish and the
special effects are good enough—minus some spotty wire work—but the script has
too many narrative chutes and ladders to pass through before it can the character’s
reveal themselves naturally.
Acting-wise,
this movie is all over the map. Kunis and Tatum are game for whatever but
neither of them seem to believe for a second what they’re doing or saying, and as
a result, their performances register a little bored. Douglas Booth appears to be having fun as the duplicitous prince Titus Abrasax, but the Oscar-nominated
Eddy Redmayne is definitely having too much fun as his evil brother Balem. Redmayne devours scenes whole as the swishy, petulant aristocrat who whispers threats in his enemy’s ear and then punctuating every line with an eye-rolling shout.
Everything and the kitchen sink seems to be crammed into this gaudy mess, and while I don't have a problem with letting your freak-flag fly, the film might have benefited from taking a page out of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” playbook, using more humor and self-awareness to deal with its outlandish exposition. The Wachowski's try to engage thoughtful ideas about destiny, capitalism, and the future of modern medicine,
but none are addressed with enough screen-time to come to a relevant
conclusion. There might be some meaningless joy to be had in it’s flashy, pin-ball
machine-like design, but “Jupiter Ascending” isn't committed enough to its
storytelling to be anything more than generic.
Originally Published in the Idaho State Journal/Feb-2015
No comments:
Post a Comment