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Monday, August 3, 2015

Movie Review Monday: Jupiter Ascending


Stand-alone to date

PG-13

Notable Cast:
Channing Tatum
Mila Kunis
Eddie Redmayne

IMDB Blurb:
"A young woman discovers her destiny as an heiress of intergalactic nobility and must fight to protect the inhabitants of Earth from an ancient and destructive industry."


Review:
Okay so this had such a great premise and it could have been a great movie!  But it wasn't.  To be honest, I think this would have been best as a duology because there's simply not enough information but maybe they will make a second movie!  You never know...

To expand on that, there were just too many loose ends at the end of the movie.  For example, what happened to the youngest brother, Titus?  After his plan with Jupiter failed, did he really just not do anything else?

The whole thing with the 'industry' (I don't want to give away that part because it's the best reveal in the movie) was actually really great and makes you think about if there are any alien races (ish - again spoiler) out there and if they're simply using the rest of the planets for their gain.

In general, though, the way things were explained were a bit confusing and they sort of took the back road with the whole explaining thing.  There were also things that weren't elaborated on that should have been (like Caine's condition and what it actually means).  There are just so many holes!

As for the romance, I really, really want to love it and I do sort of because it is sweet but it's also so cliche and sort of insta-lovey.  It's the typical, boy saves girl, they go on an adventure, near death experiences, badabing badabang they're in love.  There was also this whole damsel-in-distress thing going on with Jupiter that I could NOT get over.

Despite all that nastiness, there are good things like the action and as I've already mentioned, the whole idea.  There have been a lot of space films recently but none quite like this which I can appreciate (although at some points I couldn't help but think of the Lunar Chronicles...) so I think it deserves 3 stars over 2 because some form of originality is hard to come by in Hollywood.

The Final Verdict:
It was just an okay movie with some rather annoying holes in the explanations and plot lines that weren't completed (like what the family remembered in the aftermath... THAT was totally glossed over).  Jupiter at least tried to be a strong character even though she ended up as the damsel-in-distress quite a few times.  The action is great and the premise was pretty good as well.
3 stars


Quotes:
"My mother made me understand that every human society is a pyramid, and that some lives will always matter more than others. It is better to accept this than to pretend that it isn't true."


"It can be difficult for people from underdeveloped worlds to hear that their planet is not the only inhabited planet."


"We need a plan."
"We need firepower."


"Life is an act of consumption, Jupiter. To live is to consume and the human beings on your planet are merely a resource waiting to be converted into capital, and this entire enterprise is just a small part in a vast and beautiful machine defined by evolution, designed to a single purpose: to create profit."


"The more you care, the more the world finds ways to hurt you for it."


"Time is the single most precious commodity in the universe."

8 comments:

  1. I agree with your assessment. My husband loved it. I thought it was just okay. I didn't like Channing Tatum, but it was weird to see him in this type of movie.

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    1. It was sort of the same with me! I watched it with my mom and she loved it at first until I pointed out all the holes and then she said it was just 'eh'. Is it terrible that I can't think of any other movies that Channing Tatum is in? I recognized his face but I have no idea where I've seen him before...

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  2. Oh I had such high hopes for this one. But you're right, it would have been much better as a duology. Super confusing with all the info dumps and there were way too many loose ends.

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    1. Same - the blurb and the trailers looked really cool but it just didn't pan out nicely. For sure!

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  3. I had high hopes for this one too! I actually went to the theater and saw this one. I felt about the same way. It has a lot of potential, but it missed the mark. I wanted to know more than we were given. The character of Jupiter was my main hang up - I just couldn't get behind her as a character. I did like seeing Sean Bean though! Visually the movie was stunning!

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    1. Yes exactly! It could have been amazing but they left so many things open ended! Yeah same with me... it was like half the time she was great at being strong but then as soon as any real danger came, she had to be saved by Caine. But yes the special effects were great! It made up for some things! :)

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  4. I could kind of tell from the trailer this one might be a bit strange (or a bit of a stretch to fit into one movie). It seems like everyone's trying to produce the next Hunger Games/Divergent sci-fi phenomenon, but to me I'd rather watch/read something completely different. I think I watched too much of Mila Kunis in her previous life as one of the stars of That 70s Show to ever take her seriously in a non-comedic role.
    ~Litha Nelle

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    1. I never thought about it that way but there are a LOT of sci-fi movies coming out recently... I'm with you: something new and different is right up my alley! Haha kind of like I can never see Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe or Rupert Grint in a movie/show and not picture them in Harry Potter. They will always be Hermione, Harry, and Ron to me!

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