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I don't know exactly what got me to watch this. Maybe it was simply just putting another Wachowski movie on my chart so that I was more familiar with them aside from the Matrix films. Or maybe it was the fact that my youngest brother saw this in theaters, and the curiosity grew in me in the seven years that it happened. Either way, I had fun, but I was also pretty disappointed.
Jupiter Jones has no idea that she is actually the reincarnation of alien royalty, who actually OWNS the planet Earth. With her life in danger by those who want the claim to it, she's rescued by an ex-soldier hired by one who wants the planet for seemingly benevolent purposes. However, the more she discovers about this alien race that is in truth responsible for the human race's creation, the more danger she has to face.
Think of Jupiter Ascending as a thematic generic blockbuster. The Wachowskis tried so hard to bring out new themes into the movie, and yet they still couldn't "save" it.
My biggest criticism is that the villain only makes a couple of appearances and doesn't feel very real. He has everyone else do stuff for him and his actor is just lowly growling every line, like it's 1984's Dune or something. Ironically, his character background is nothing compared to the thematic examination that the Wachowskis try to bring to the lead cast. Balem, the villain, has a little brother named Titus who acts as a secondary villain, but is much more engrossing for what the movie has. His scenes were a bit more interesting.
As for the themes, it was quite obvious that capitalism and consumerism had a say in this as more and more plot twists concerning Earth's role in the universe are revealed. Property rights and responsibility vs. egotism are the main factor of the hero-villain relations. There is even a bureaucracy scene showcasing our apparent queen Jupiter needing the aid of an android to navigate the scenario, and ending with a cameo by Terry Gilliam, director of Brazil, a famous film mocking bureaucratic politics. Unfortunately, the thematic focus is only occasional as this overdrawn two-hour movie builds itself on lengthy CGI space battles with clever action direction. But as the CGI overtakes the movie, the action sometimes feels too long, and despite the clever direction it gets boring.
As for the story itself, it throws a lot of things in that don't usually progress the story. Apparently, these human aliens are not only the original humans, but the inspiration for a lot of world wide myths. That explains why one of these alien races is just literally reptiles with wings. And on top of that, while there are a couple of decent plot twists which obviously go hand-in-hand with the themes, it still relies on typical character tropes like the gritty ex-soldier, the royalty revelation and the grisly old man hiding away in a cabin before it gets attacked.
Well, Jupiter Ascending had a lot of effort put into it, but the focus remained in all of the wrong places. It was still a generic blockbuster, and that's all the Wachowskis have become: a heavier sci-fi equivalent to Michael Bay. It was never unwatchable, but it did test patience. At least the Wachowskis tried to write more thematic sci-fi again.
= 52/100
Jupiter Ascending
(2015) - Directed by The Wachowskis
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Space Opera / Action-Adventure
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"My mother taught me what was necessary to rule in this universe."
(2015) - Directed by The Wachowskis
--------------------------------------------
Space Opera / Action-Adventure
-------------------------------------------------
"My mother taught me what was necessary to rule in this universe."
I don't know exactly what got me to watch this. Maybe it was simply just putting another Wachowski movie on my chart so that I was more familiar with them aside from the Matrix films. Or maybe it was the fact that my youngest brother saw this in theaters, and the curiosity grew in me in the seven years that it happened. Either way, I had fun, but I was also pretty disappointed.
Jupiter Jones has no idea that she is actually the reincarnation of alien royalty, who actually OWNS the planet Earth. With her life in danger by those who want the claim to it, she's rescued by an ex-soldier hired by one who wants the planet for seemingly benevolent purposes. However, the more she discovers about this alien race that is in truth responsible for the human race's creation, the more danger she has to face.
Think of Jupiter Ascending as a thematic generic blockbuster. The Wachowskis tried so hard to bring out new themes into the movie, and yet they still couldn't "save" it.
My biggest criticism is that the villain only makes a couple of appearances and doesn't feel very real. He has everyone else do stuff for him and his actor is just lowly growling every line, like it's 1984's Dune or something. Ironically, his character background is nothing compared to the thematic examination that the Wachowskis try to bring to the lead cast. Balem, the villain, has a little brother named Titus who acts as a secondary villain, but is much more engrossing for what the movie has. His scenes were a bit more interesting.
As for the themes, it was quite obvious that capitalism and consumerism had a say in this as more and more plot twists concerning Earth's role in the universe are revealed. Property rights and responsibility vs. egotism are the main factor of the hero-villain relations. There is even a bureaucracy scene showcasing our apparent queen Jupiter needing the aid of an android to navigate the scenario, and ending with a cameo by Terry Gilliam, director of Brazil, a famous film mocking bureaucratic politics. Unfortunately, the thematic focus is only occasional as this overdrawn two-hour movie builds itself on lengthy CGI space battles with clever action direction. But as the CGI overtakes the movie, the action sometimes feels too long, and despite the clever direction it gets boring.
As for the story itself, it throws a lot of things in that don't usually progress the story. Apparently, these human aliens are not only the original humans, but the inspiration for a lot of world wide myths. That explains why one of these alien races is just literally reptiles with wings. And on top of that, while there are a couple of decent plot twists which obviously go hand-in-hand with the themes, it still relies on typical character tropes like the gritty ex-soldier, the royalty revelation and the grisly old man hiding away in a cabin before it gets attacked.
Well, Jupiter Ascending had a lot of effort put into it, but the focus remained in all of the wrong places. It was still a generic blockbuster, and that's all the Wachowskis have become: a heavier sci-fi equivalent to Michael Bay. It was never unwatchable, but it did test patience. At least the Wachowskis tried to write more thematic sci-fi again.
= 52/100