4/10

When all is said and done, the biggest question concerning this film will be how The Wachowski Siblings managed to take Warner Brothers Studios for 175 million dollars to produce this mess. That’s not to say that the money isn’t used wisely, quite the contrary. “Jupiter Ascending” is among a very elite list for the most beautiful cinematography i have ever seen in a motion picture. If i was grading this film on style direction and fight choreography, the movie would be an 8/10, but it’s the important things that make a film that flaunter in making this anything more than just a visual memory. The film is about Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), a young adult woman who was born under a night sky, with signs predicting she was destined for great things.Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the planets. It’s easy to look at a poster of the film and easily realize where this film did wrong. Casting two big time A-listers in roles that they aren’t usually accustomed to, and let that be the gravitating force pushing tweeners to see it. While neither are terrible in the film, Kunis doesn’t feel cast appropriatly for a role too big for her emotional depth. Tatum is surprisingly well, and i can see a decent future as an action star for the rugged handsome lead. The chemistry between the two in the film is plagued by romantic dialogue that is laughable at best, and a romance to begin with that feels like it comes out of nowhere. I get that no woman would be able to resist Tatum saving their life, but it seems like these two talk for a couple of minutes during the scene, and Kunis suddenly remembers that she has to express her interest in Tatum. All of that pales in comparison to the most over the top acting job i have seen since Cameron Diaz in 2014’s “Annie”; Eddie Redmayne playing one of many villains. The movie has a problem to begin with when it comes to picking which villain should shine the most, but Redmayne is the choice by film’s end. Because of this choice, we are treated to some of the most laughable dialogue readings i have ever seen. Redmayne is an impressive long ranged actor, but there was something about this movie that ruined all of that charasmatic charm. He talks with two voices that both brought laughs out of me in every scene. One, a low raspy whisper that would normally sound like a dying character talking in any other movie, and two, a loud roaring yell when he commands the respect he doesn’t seem to be getting. This role is so bad that i would understand the academy having second thoughts about his Oscar nomination for Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything”. I appreciated the ideas to get across some new sci-fi ideas to the audience, but the reach of the movie seems to always exceed it’s grasp. The film has no fewer than five subplots next to the main plot i have already told you in this review, and most of them aren’t needed. One aspect of the story showed many scenes involving Jupiter’s on Earth family bickering and getting as much of their personality on screen as we the audience can handle. It’s muddled and pointless dialogue like this that will have the audience reaching for their cell phones to find out how long this movie has been running. It’s a two hour film that feels like three as a result of these unnecessary plot devices. I did manage to see this movie in 3D, and there are some aspects where it feels justified to pay extra, but i would say that the movie is beautiful enough to see in 2D to still grasp the long shots of space. The 3D is only really useful during the fighting scenes when colorful blasts of lazers are shooting at your face. One thing The Wachowski’s have always done well in their films with comparing their ideas to problems facing our very own world, and “Jupiter” is no different. The movie talks a lot about social commentary including higher ups hiding disease curing drugs from the public, and the use of lands to harvest other bigger agendas with foreign policy. Anyone who keeps news headlines close to them will appreciate the similarities on more than one occasion that this movie seems to shine a mirror on. Overall, the movie was not as bad as i was expecting, but it’s nowhere near a 175 million dollar space opera. The film has trouble during a lack of second act, and instead using two third acts to finish the film. By the end of the movie, you will feel completely worn out by many scenes in the final half hour that are similar in build and execution. The movie is worth a look to see the beautiful , crisp style of two directors who know how to capitalize on ambitious lighting effects. If you really need to see the film, i would recommend a local dollar theater. It’s well justified as seeing on screen. Infact, that’s the only way i would recommend it. But i wouldn’t pay $9-13 to see this in theaters. “Jupiter Ascending” is stylishly engaging, but it’s overcooking of mythology combined with endless expositional dialogue scenes, makes this the first big blockbuster bomb of 2015.