Jupiter Ascending

Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Christina Cole, Doona Bae, James D'Arcy
Directed by: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An ordinary girl (Mila Kunis) is shocked when an alien (Channing Tatum) arrives to save her from mysterious villains determined to murder her. She embarks on a quest beyond her imagination, where Earth's fate rests in the balance.

Review:

Tim: I am a big fan of the Wachowskis. Andy and Lana have given us some truly great movies over the years. The Matrix is still one of my all time favorite films. I loved Cloud Atlas and Speed Racer. In fact, I'd say that the Wachowski Siblings have never made a bad movie... until now. I wanted to like Jupiter Ascending, I really did. We are in desperate need of original science fiction and this could have been a fun ride. Unfortunately, it's a giat muddled mess. There's so much fault to find in this movie that it far outweighs any positives the movie might have. At the end of the day, this film isn't a complete disaster, but it's easily the worst film in the Wachowski filmography.

This movie looked bad from the very first time I saw anything about it. I loved the name of the film, but as the details and images started to roll out, you couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to be a massive misfire. I tried so hard to ignore those concerns because I have such faith in the Wachowskis, but at the end of the day, this movie was every bit as bad as it looked from the outset.

There's a lot of flaws, so it is hard to know where to start. I think the casting of Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis were both mistakes. I've said it many times- despite Tatum having certain roles that play to his strengths, as an actor, the guy just comes up short. He isn't very talented, and his lack of talent is exposed in a role like this. He looked beyond absurd in his ridiculous hybrid wolf getup and overall, just seemed a bit disinterested. He didn't add much to the film. Mila Kunis wasn't great either. While she has been very effective before (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Black Swan), her acting limitations cropped up here. I didn't really believe her in the role. I also didn't see much chemistry between Tatum and Kunis, which further hurt everything we saw on screen. In a film with myriad flaws, the miscasting of Tatum and Kunis was a big one.

I do have to mention Eddie Redmayne, who by all accounts seems to be a very talented actor. You wouldn't know that from this performance- it's just all wrong. He seemed completely uncomfortable, trying too hard, and just came across a bit buffoonish. It's a Razzie worthy performance. I will say that Sean Bean was a nice addition (as always) to the cast, and for the most part, emerges unscathed. The rest of the supporting cast was fine.

Now, I'm not sure the intent of the story, but it felt like the movie kept giving us similar moments. The most annoying was how Kunis' character would get herself into some jam (being forced to marry, abducted by the villains) and needed to be rescued. This happened several times throughout the film. Through her naivety or fault, she continually became the damsel in distress and Tatum had to come to her rescue. It just felt odd, especially because her situation was so often her own fault. At one moment, she's completely taken in by a clearly lying villain, and another, she agrees to a terribly ill-conceived plan in an attempt to save her family. Jupiter Jones is just not a very bright or likeable character sometimes. That's the fault of the Wachowskis, who also wrote the script. The entire film feels like an ambitious failure.

I do want to highlight some of the special effects. There were impressive moments throughout the film. The Wachowskis have always had a visual flair, and that shows up from time to time. Other moments were less effective, but I do think the visuals were mostly good. I can't claim to have enjoyed seeing Tatum ice skate through the air (a better idea on paper than in real life), but for the most part, the visuals were solid.

While I wanted to like Jupiter Ascending, this just isn't a good movie. The Wachowskis are too strong of filmmakers to let this completely run off the rails, but it's close to being really bad. I hoped for a great film, but this is an utter disappointment.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas