Review: Jupiter Ascending

The new Wachowskis' film Jupiter Ascending is a B-movie lovers dream. I say this upfront as a way to qualify my review. I really enjoyed this film but my enjoyment of it may stem directly from a love of bad-good movies. By most standards, Jupiter Ascending is too big a mess for most to praise it. However, amidst the awkward chemistry of its leads, all the mascara, and the sci-fi chosen-one cliches there are flashes of real genius filmmaking on display.

The plot is a hodgepodge of "the one" type stories. There isn't anything new here. Mila Kunis stars as Jupiter Jones, a girl who has always yearned for something bigger but is stuck cleaning toilets on Earth. That is until some aliens try to kill her while she is trying to sell her eggs to help her scheming brother. Enter in Channing Tatum as Caine Wise, a splicer, to save her and thrust her into an intergalactic adventure. Splicers are human experiments that have been crossed with an animal. In Caine's case a wolf which makes him an excellent tracker.

From here the plot is as routine as you might expect. Every double cross can be seen coming a mile away. However the details are all delightfully oddball. Every character has a quirk, an odd haircut or makeup, or some cool power. The screen is constantly filled with clever ideas. In one stunning chase sequence, the Wachowskis' manage to top everything they have done before. Never has a 3D chase looked so convincing and been directed with such clarity.

The Wachowskis' are masters at creating a world here as they did with the Matrix. Every frame has things to look at that aren't just eye-candy but often add depth to the world of the film. Where the film falters most is the Wachowskis' reliance on familiar narrative points. For all of its bat-shit crazy creativity, the film still feels like something we have experienced. Coupled with the laughable on-screen chemistry of Kunis and Tatum, the film has loads of unintended laughter. For me this wild mixture worked to an intoxicating level. The film reminds me Buckaroo Banzai in many ways and I mean that as a big compliment. While not for all, Jupiter Ascending is my kind of so bad its amazing type of film.


3.5/5