Jupiter Ascending (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – In a bright and colorful future, a young destitute caretaker gets targeted by a ruthless son of a powerful family that live on a planet in need of a new heir, so she travels with a genetically engineered warrior to the planet in order to stop his tyrant reign.

My Take – From the directors of The Matrix Trilogy, that’s what the trailers & posters of this epic & ambitious soap opera have been advertising with, not from the directors of Speed Racer & Cloud Atlas. Frankly, the film paints a pretty fascinating sci-fi universe & puts forward a unique & interesting concept! But sadly the ambition is wasted on a story that doesn’t seem to capitalize on such a universe. The story follows an unsuspecting sanitary cleaner Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who turns out to be the genetic reincarnation of the head of the Abraxis family, and claimant to the throne of a family who own several planets across the universe including Earth. These families act like corporations who seed these worlds. Once the worlds become over populated, their people are harvested to create a youth serum which keeps those living in the corporate society young for millennia after millennia. In this case, the Abraxis family is one of the most powerful and each of three heirs is vying for control of Earth. Standing in their way, however, is Jupiter Jones. With a bounty on her head she is tasked to be rescued by Caine (Channing Tatum), a fallen soldier of the intergalactic peace keeping force.

Yes! that sounds like a lot to take in, it is, and easily the best part of the film. The Wachowski’s have a talent for creating fascinating worlds that feel complete. Here, they have created a massive sci-fi universe the likes of which we haven’t seen in at least a decade, maybe longer. It’s very clear that their ambition extends beyond just this one story. In fact, there are hundreds of fascinating stories that could be told about this universe. Even though the story is good, the script is lacking and the characters never really become all that interesting. They just end up feeling like caricatures meant to introduce us to this world we’ve entered. They’re histories are explained and they clearly have fleshed out back stories, but they feel almost lifeless in that they seem to be here only to be an aspect of this world and not a full character. Even as a lead character, Channing Tatum as Caine feels like little more than a body meant to perform choreography and defend Milas Kunis’ Jupiter. At the very least, Jupiter is a sympathetic character who shows shades of change, but even she often feels like little more than a narrator meant to ask question for exposition purposes. Eddie Redmayne seems to have the juiciest part, and though he still seems to be a one dimensional villain, he shows emotional depth that the other characters lack. But the good news is that the film isn’t a complete loss. The action, which the Wachowski’s have proved to have a handle on, is fantastic. This is Star Wars level stuff, with space battles and well choreographed martial art duels. The cool tech thrown in, like the gravity boots, add some imaginative spice that once again shows the Wachowski’s creativity for finding ways to justify making a 12 year old’s imagination a reality. It’s some truly fun stuff. Likewise, the world we’re introduced to looks fantastic. The special effects make believable some very interesting and exciting details, such as the multitude of gadgets and weapons we’re witness to. It’s clear that the Wachowski’s have set out to create a unique universe, and in that case they have succeeded. Well just that case! This film is just a visual feast but nothing more than that.

Sadly not good enough to carry a franchise (well unless you have Transformers involved, oh yes!). Which is a great pity because, on paper, it really had potential. Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum put in some decent performances. Sean Bean doesn’t get to die this time. Eddie Redmayne (current Oscar nominee for “The Theory of Everything”) gives a totally over-the-top, breathy-voiced rendition of the main antagonist Balem. Redmayne’s performance is one of the more polarizing aspects of this film, as some viewers can totally hate it. On the whole ‘Jupiter Ascending’ has an ambitious & epic concept thrown down by uninteresting characters & a stumbling script. This film had the potential to be the Star Wars of our generation, well sadly with the new Star Wars movie just a few months away, this film will easily be remembered as a lost cause. Honestly, I do hope for a sequel to this, if only to see this universe continue to get development. Perhaps a sequel would fulfill the ambition the Wachowski’s clearly seek to build upon.