JUPITER ASCENDING Review JUPITER ASCENDING review by Golda Fonseca. No doubt the Wachowskis excel at creating fantastical and extraordinary worlds beyond the imagination of the average spectator. They have made a brand for themselves crafting universes visually rich and somewhat complex. Jupiter ascending, I’d dare guess came to be as an expression of one of the writers’ interest in the science of astronomy, or maybe both of them fancy explore artistically the far reaching worlds besides our own. In any case, there’s nothing wrong with astronomy per se, or with the fact that the main character takes her name after one of the planets in our solar system. The problem becomes the movie itself when it falls into common places and statements that we’ve all heard and seen before. Like the critique of our specie’s egocentric perception that we’re the center of the universe, framed and limited by our consciousness of what we’re today and what is known to us. Or the sneer –we’d like to think that was the intention- towards capitalism delivered bluntly and without a trace of irony at the end of what started to be a promising substantial speech by an Eddie Redmayne, who looks everything but the real deal – unlike other of his performances- as basically one of the lords of the universe. He sounds even worse in the skin of Balem Abrasax, one of the three siblings of the same clan competing for universal power and wealth. Being a talented actor, we can’t help but assume that the direction he received all but contributed to an affected and exaggerated performance. It’s fair to say, however, that no one particularly shines performance-wise in this film. Especially not Mila Kunis as Jupiter, who spends most of her time on screen looking stunned and being rescued by Channing Tatum’s character, Caine Wise, a warrior splice, partly wolf but mostly human, that falls for the damsel in distress. Although visually colorful with some interesting shots and landscapes, possibly paying tribute to memorable science fiction movies of old; the story descends flat pretty much at the speed of light. The movie is full of clichés, lines are dull when not occasionally incomprehensible, and delivered with a simplicity that lacks any sarcasm or irony which denies any dose of humor to the movie. This does not allow for better or more nuanced performances, let alone character development or story depth. The greatest depth for sure is that of space itself; but even in science fiction, in a fantasy world, in the dark corner of a theater, it’s still possible to establish a connection between a vision and the audience. I have to say I fail to see what the vision for this movie was. It reminds me a bit of Cinderella, the poor overworked girl destined to some greater future, the family feuds, except that nowadays, even kids would probably expect something else from a modern Cinderella tale. If you go to Jupiter Ascending with low expectations, you may enjoy a forgettable popcorn movie; otherwise, just stay here on Earth checking out our next reviews. JUPITER ASCENDING is now playing in theaters nationwide.
