Jupiter Ascending Review
by: William Senzano
edited by: Anthony Zangrillo
The Wachowski’s have been through a lot since The Matrix made its debut in 1999. Five movies and three video games later, Jupiter Ascending is finally making its way to theaters after several release delays. In the Wachowski’s last outing, Cloud Atlas, critics praised the creative team’s immense ambition. This time, the Wachowskis attempt to recapture the same science-fiction magic that surrounded both Cloud Atlas and The Matrix by revisiting similar themes of indulgence, consumption, and the inhumanity of capitalism. Unfortunately, the result is an unsalvageable two-hour train wreck.
Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis star in this sci-fi epic. Jupiter Jones (Kunis) was born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along: her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Naive and seemingly ordinary female protagonist who is fed up with the world. Beefcake who swoops in and saves her from the drudgery of everyday life. Every character with their “complicated” pasts, manipulative villains scheming impossible plans, and visually straining fight sequences launching sparks and debris at the camera in slow motion 3D. Jupiter Ascending doesn’t offer any originality to its already mundane plot and doesn’t really offer much else. Not only does each character deliver laughably awful dialogue with a smoldering grin to the camera, everybody takes themselves so seriously (number one culprit: Eddie Redmayne).
Still, the special effects, scenery, costumes, and makeup are awe-inspiring and truly breathtaking. These visionary directors excel at creating unique and fascinating worlds. As I sat watching the movie, I became deeply interested in some of the subsidiary conflicts. The complex and vastly infinite history between the rulers of the House of Abrasax would make for a more deeply enriching story ripe with moral conflict. Undoubtedly, this one element would better engage audiences than the sappy and unbelievable star cross lovers theme ultimately decided upon. As a result, the massive set pieces and world building are vastly underutilized, serving little to no purpose, while greatly confusing audiences.
Surprisingly, Jupiter Ascending feels very lifeless and uninspired, making me wonder why the directors responsible for The Matrix didn’t limit the extent of this creative, yet out-of-control juggernaut. Famous for their heavy political themes, the Wachowski’s present a bland and lazy critique of capitalism via the “humans are being harvested for profit” business model. Like most aspects of this film, this plot point was completely contrived and utterly forgettable. In fact, I felt extremely disappointed that the creative team did not even develop one character properly. As an entire planet explodes and crumbles into oblivion, most audiences will totally disregard the plot or characters.
Science-fiction directors tend to be infamous for their underwhelming follow up projects. Neil Blomkamp’s visually and politically striking District 9 was followed by the extremely disappointing Elysium. Andrew Nicole’s ground breaking Gattaca totally eclipsed his less impressive, follow-up sci-fi venture, In Time. Following this pattern, the Wachowski’s have run out of steam following The Matrix and probably got lucky with Cloud Atlas. Unfortunately, the finished product resembles a disappointing reminder of the misguided talent that was once responsible for producing one of contemporary cinema’s greatest masterpieces.
