Bright, colorful, action: These are the first 3 words that come to mind when thinking about Jupiter Ascending. This is by far the most stimulating film I’ve seen in quite some time. This isn’t a film being promoted for 3D and IMAX simply “because.” This film, in its entirety, was made for 3D. I’ll go as far as saying you wouldn’t be doing yourself or the film justice by viewing a standard version.
Jupiter Ascending is directed by the Wachowski’s (Andy and Lana), the very creators of the Matrix Trilogy. Our protagonist Jupiter (Mila Kunis) is an immigrant who was born at sea when her mother fled the tyranny of Russia. Living with her mother and other relatives, Jupiter grows up having Cinderella-like dreams of falling in love and living happily ever after. She assists her mother and aunt with their cleaning service but, her daily routine is monotonous and unfulfilling. Her life takes a turn when she discovers alien life forms attempting to kidnap her. That is when we’re introduced to Caine Wise (Channing Tatum).
Caine fills her in on bigger problems than her dismay for janitorial services and from there, the adventure begins. Clearly you wouldn’t have Channing Tatum be anyone besides the knight in shining armor, but this knight has space boots. Gravitational space boots where he’s able to fly all-over Chicago yet when he’s on the ground it’s almost as if he’s roller blading. There were quite a few scenes that seemed rushed and there’s a lot of unexplained occurrences.
Caine’s flight patterns and battle scenes do the 3D aspect justice and make you beg for more. The storyline and some dialogue exchanged were pretty weak. At one point, people in the audience were starting to wonder if Balem (Eddie Redmayne, antagonist) was a poor actor or had a behavioral disorder. His spotty delivery was extremely unattractive and felt more like a distraction from the film than what was supposed to be “acting.” Caine had a helper in Stinger (Sean Bean) who lived a private life on earth in an abandoned house full of bees (random and also unexplained). But the great part about their arrival at the house was how the bees complimented the 3D effects of the movie in the foreground and background.
The action, fight scenes, and special effects are what really carry this movie. It’s a good 7 out of 10. There are countless scenes that will leave you clueless as to what’s going on and the horrific acting by Redmayne reminds me of another failed antagonist from Exodus: Gods & Kings (the worst Pharaoh in the history of Exodus remakes). It’s right at 2hrs in length so a late-night showing won’t drag on too bad.
If you want an exciting film with action and great 3D effects, then this is what you should do with your time opening weekend. If you’re looking for a quality story with minimal cliches, you should look elsewhere.
-Jon J.