Jupiter Ascending (C or 2/4 stars)
'Jupiter Ascending' (written & directed by the Wachowski siblings, The Matrix, Cloud Atlas) is batsh*t crazy, great to look at, but undone by narrative clunkiness & a lackluster performance from Mila Kunis. The film begins by introducing us to Jupiter Jones (Kunis), who works as a maid to help her caricatured-Russian family make ends meet. Little does Jupiter know that she’s been targeted for death by an alien conglomerate. Why? Because it turns out that Jupiter's DNA matches a female alien who was once the Queen of the Universe {so Jupiter is space royalty, basically}.
The prior Queen of the Universe bequeathed ownership of the solar system to her 3 conniving children: Balem Abrasax (a deliciously scene-chewing Eddie Redmayne), Kalique Abrasax (Tuppence Middleton), & Titus Abrasax (Douglas Booth). But Jupiter is now in the picture. See, the Abrasax trio want their hands on planet Earth and, since Jupiter has the power to save mankind, they view her as either a threat or an opportunity for personal gain. Balem sends assassins down to Chicago to kill her. Titus hires Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a half-alien/half-wolf warrior, to protect & bring Jupiter to him for his own reasons. And as for Kalique, well, her goals with Jupiter remain vague. Mayhem ensues as Caine Wise teams up with fellow warrior Stinger (Sean Bean) to help save Jupiter & see if she'll step-up to reclaim her inheritance as the new Queen of the Universe. But with double-crossings happening everywhere, it's increasingly difficult for Jupiter to decide who to trust.
Boy, oh boy. I wanted to enjoy 'Jupiter Ascending' as some big clusterf*ck entertainment but, instead, I walk away still trying to figure out what I just watched and stretching to find aspects about it that I DID like. One of the larger problems with this film is that it feels too short to contain the wealth of information/exposition that it wants to spew out. And yet, at 127 minutes in length, it was already starting to wear-out its welcome because of its messiness. So for me, the film needed to either be split into 2 films, OR, be made into a TV miniseries. But alas, we have 'JA' as is.
Visually, 'Jupiter Ascending' wowed me quite a bit; although, the CGI is, at times, overwhelming {think of George Lucas' Star Wars prequels). There are some jaw-dropping space battle sequences {like, WOW}. I loved looking at the outer-spatial production design, the intergalactic costumes, the bizarre creatures, etc. I also wasn't ever bored by 'Jupiter Ascending' -- constantly on the look-out for some narrative clarity to arrive, haha. But my admiration kinda ends there.
Mila Kunis never convinced me in the role of Jupiter. I dunno. I have nothing against Kunis; enjoyed her in Black Swan, Friends with Benefits, & the like. But I found her wildly miscast in Oz the Great & Powerful, and here, as well. She just doesn't imbue Jupiter with the type of relatable Earth-born/space heroine that this movie calls for. There's a detrimental blankness to her face. There's a too-hip lilt to her conversational voice. She just didn't do it for me, here. Furthermorrrre, she's AWFUL when acting in front of a green screen. i.e., ships are exploding around her, debris is falling near her, the ground is giving way beneath her ... and she looks nonplussed through it all. AWFUL.
It also doesn't help Kunis that Jupiter is probably the least interesting character onscreen. The Abrasax siblings are more complex & were deserving of more screen time than they get. Kalique's amoral ambiguity is intriguing. Titus' obscure motives made me ponder him quite a bit. And though Eddie Redmayne goes over-the-top (whispering inaudible dialogue one moment, bellowing it the next), his Balem is a fascinating villain, too. I perked up whenever he popped-up onscreen. As for Channing Tatum, he excels here at doing what he typically does: brood, look cool, look strong, be the hero, & make his legions of fans swoon. Smaller performances by Maria Doyle Kennedy (from Downton Abbey), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (who broke out this past yr. in Belle & Beyond the Lights), & Bae Doona (also from Cloud Atlas) are fine, but barely register.
So yeah, 'Jupiter Ascending' is just a mess. Sometimes it's involving (themes of finding one's self amid genetic destiny), but sometimes it's distancing. Sometimes it looks great, sometimes there is pixelation overkill. Some of the performances impress, some are unintentionally funny. Worst of all, it's never a good thing when you can't explain the story to anyone without heaving a sigh. Even if the Wachowskis direct their film here with some flair & panache, their screenplay is a muddle; consisting of characters explaiiiining the rules of the story to each other, interrupted by neverending fights/chases/falling through the sky, and then back to more explaining -- rinse & repeat. Again, I was not bored, but 'Jupiter Ascending' is too exposition-heavy & incoherent for me to give more than faint praise for its individual components.
The prior Queen of the Universe bequeathed ownership of the solar system to her 3 conniving children: Balem Abrasax (a deliciously scene-chewing Eddie Redmayne), Kalique Abrasax (Tuppence Middleton), & Titus Abrasax (Douglas Booth). But Jupiter is now in the picture. See, the Abrasax trio want their hands on planet Earth and, since Jupiter has the power to save mankind, they view her as either a threat or an opportunity for personal gain. Balem sends assassins down to Chicago to kill her. Titus hires Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a half-alien/half-wolf warrior, to protect & bring Jupiter to him for his own reasons. And as for Kalique, well, her goals with Jupiter remain vague. Mayhem ensues as Caine Wise teams up with fellow warrior Stinger (Sean Bean) to help save Jupiter & see if she'll step-up to reclaim her inheritance as the new Queen of the Universe. But with double-crossings happening everywhere, it's increasingly difficult for Jupiter to decide who to trust.
Boy, oh boy. I wanted to enjoy 'Jupiter Ascending' as some big clusterf*ck entertainment but, instead, I walk away still trying to figure out what I just watched and stretching to find aspects about it that I DID like. One of the larger problems with this film is that it feels too short to contain the wealth of information/exposition that it wants to spew out. And yet, at 127 minutes in length, it was already starting to wear-out its welcome because of its messiness. So for me, the film needed to either be split into 2 films, OR, be made into a TV miniseries. But alas, we have 'JA' as is.
Visually, 'Jupiter Ascending' wowed me quite a bit; although, the CGI is, at times, overwhelming {think of George Lucas' Star Wars prequels). There are some jaw-dropping space battle sequences {like, WOW}. I loved looking at the outer-spatial production design, the intergalactic costumes, the bizarre creatures, etc. I also wasn't ever bored by 'Jupiter Ascending' -- constantly on the look-out for some narrative clarity to arrive, haha. But my admiration kinda ends there.
Mila Kunis never convinced me in the role of Jupiter. I dunno. I have nothing against Kunis; enjoyed her in Black Swan, Friends with Benefits, & the like. But I found her wildly miscast in Oz the Great & Powerful, and here, as well. She just doesn't imbue Jupiter with the type of relatable Earth-born/space heroine that this movie calls for. There's a detrimental blankness to her face. There's a too-hip lilt to her conversational voice. She just didn't do it for me, here. Furthermorrrre, she's AWFUL when acting in front of a green screen. i.e., ships are exploding around her, debris is falling near her, the ground is giving way beneath her ... and she looks nonplussed through it all. AWFUL.
It also doesn't help Kunis that Jupiter is probably the least interesting character onscreen. The Abrasax siblings are more complex & were deserving of more screen time than they get. Kalique's amoral ambiguity is intriguing. Titus' obscure motives made me ponder him quite a bit. And though Eddie Redmayne goes over-the-top (whispering inaudible dialogue one moment, bellowing it the next), his Balem is a fascinating villain, too. I perked up whenever he popped-up onscreen. As for Channing Tatum, he excels here at doing what he typically does: brood, look cool, look strong, be the hero, & make his legions of fans swoon. Smaller performances by Maria Doyle Kennedy (from Downton Abbey), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (who broke out this past yr. in Belle & Beyond the Lights), & Bae Doona (also from Cloud Atlas) are fine, but barely register.
So yeah, 'Jupiter Ascending' is just a mess. Sometimes it's involving (themes of finding one's self amid genetic destiny), but sometimes it's distancing. Sometimes it looks great, sometimes there is pixelation overkill. Some of the performances impress, some are unintentionally funny. Worst of all, it's never a good thing when you can't explain the story to anyone without heaving a sigh. Even if the Wachowskis direct their film here with some flair & panache, their screenplay is a muddle; consisting of characters explaiiiining the rules of the story to each other, interrupted by neverending fights/chases/falling through the sky, and then back to more explaining -- rinse & repeat. Again, I was not bored, but 'Jupiter Ascending' is too exposition-heavy & incoherent for me to give more than faint praise for its individual components.