Review of JUPITER ASCENDING: Intergalactic Intrigues

February 6, 2015

"Jupiter Ascending" is the latest attempt by the Wachowski siblings Andy and Larry (now Lana), to recover their lost glory after The Matrix phenomenon eventually fizzled out after unsuccessful sequels to the groundbreaking 1999 original. 

Despite her stellar first name, Jupiter Jones is an ordinary girl. She and her Russian immigrant mother worked as house cleaners for the rich and famous in Chicago. When alien beings try to abduct her, she was rescued by a valiant warrior with flying boots named Cain Wise. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that she would be involved in an cosmic power struggle for control of Earth itself.

Meanwhile, millions of light years away, the three Abrasax siblings -- the power-hungry Balem, the vain Kalique and the hedonistic Titus -- indulge in their power play for control of their own sectors of the universe. For these members of the intergalactic ruling class, planet Earth is a valuable farm of life essences just waiting to be harvested. Only Jupiter, being the genetic reincarnation of their mother, stands in their way now, or the Earth is doomed for destruction.

This film has a 127 minute running time during which it tries to ambitiously build a complex new mythology of a trans-universal order. I am assuming this would be the first episode of a planned franchise, and so its creators really took their time to define its rules and parameters. The worlds they built were fantastic and imaginative, wonders of computer-generated imagery. The elaborate costumes and out-of-the-box production designs are the best features of this film. The swelling musical score also heightens the grandeur of the scenes presented on screen.

The action sequences were very well-choreographed and executed. The multitude of characters can get confusing at first, but they had me fascinated, maybe except for the extended family of Jupiter (mostly there for comic relief). I liked that segment where Jupiter was going through red tape at a topsy-turvy government facility, encountering lazy bureaucrats at each step. There should have been more of such sociological commentary of these new worlds, rather than all political and personal aspects.

The central character of Jupiter Jones, as charmingly played by the lovely Mila Kunis, was engagingly likable. I like the way she delivers her lines, especially the funny, sassy ones. She makes me smile. Her rescuer Caine Wise, as played by the athletic Channing Tatum, was gracefully heroic. It came to a point though that the action already felt a tad repetitive with Cain rescuing Jupiter over and over and over, you knew she was never really in any danger at all. The love angle between the two took a lot of screen time, and they had excellent chemistry together.

Sean Bean (best known as Ned Stark in "The Game of Thrones") was impressive as the usually reliable Stinger, a good friend and former comrade-at-arms of Cain. 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. The handsome Douglas Booth (recently seen as Romeo in the 2013 film version of the Shakespeare classic) played the shrewd Titus with relish. Tuppence Middleton (who was also in "The Imitation Game") was ravishing in her portrayal of ever-youthful Kalique. 

Overall, I thought the film was generally entertaining, anchored on the characters of Jupiter and Cain, as played by the charismatic pair of Kunis and Tatum. The Wachowskis have created a whole new universe which could be the playground for their imaginations for better adventure stories in the future. Being a sci-fi fantasy, the possibilities are limitless. I thought Jupiter and Cain look great together, and I would not mind seeing this pair again in a sequel. 7/10.