Friday, February 6, 2015

I'm Amazed By The Sheer Scope Of Jupiter Ascending...

...if only The Wachowskis could've kept up the same level of complexity with the plot.
I heard a rumor that the original screenplay for Jupiter Ascending was 600 pages long... no you didn't read that wrong. That's the word on the street anyway. So how the hell did that translate into a two hour film?? I have simply no answers for you. I could try to make something up, like half of that page count went into describing the insane world that The Wachowskis were creating. And believe me it is insane! Don't believe me?

A Mog (obligatory Spaceballs reference) wearing anti-gravity rollerblades fights a dragon with a laser gun over an imploding factory that exists (I don't really know why) within the noxious atmosphere of a gas giant. Still don't believe me? Well I don't know what else to tell ya.
Jupiter Ascending is a brave film. And an expensive one. And while the final picture lacks much in the way of suspense or real character development, the world building is second to only perhaps JRR Tolkien... Yeah, it's that well detailed. The locations and overall concept for the Galactic force that currently exists there all feel really well constructed. The ideas are simply awe-inspiring. But Mila Kunis (for as much as I like her) just doesn't sell it. She can't get the job done in a film like this, or perhaps she needs a director as skilled as Darren Aronofsky. And while I loved The Wachowskis' Cloud Atlas and will defend Speed Racer to any critic that comes along, I am very much aware that they are not actors' directors. Their MO is FX. And that's perfectly alright by me.
Look, we need bigger than life films from Hollywood... films that change the game and set new bars. So we need to allow mistakes and films with growing pains like Jupiter Ascending to exist. If we let flicks like this fail, we may never get another chance to see something as groundbreaking and original as Star Wars (the first one) or The Matrix (also the first one). I know it seems unfair to ask this of the film community, but this is a movie you really should see just to keep the studios honest. I promise there's more than enough here to keep you in your seat. And even if you don't like it (there's a good chance you'll have some disagreements with the filmmakers), Jupiter Ascending sure is an excellent conversation piece... and the kind of project that ultimately paves the way for stronger, more creative films to come.
It's kind of up to us guys... just saying.

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