āJupiter Ascendingā movie review
By Steven Cayer, Senior Columnist
3/5
The Wachowski siblings made a name for themselves with The Matrix Trilogy, becoming known for their creative world-building and originality. Thatās exactly what they deliver in their new sci-fi epic Jupiter Ascending.
Earth is one of the many planets that alien royalty, the Abrasax family, harvests for a serum to make themselves immortal. When the queen dies, her three heirs fight over her inheritance, including all of Earth. Little do they know that Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), an insignificant human who cleans houses, is the reincarnation of the queen, making her the rightful heir to the inheritance. In comes Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered, former interplanetary warrior sent by Kalique Abrasax (Tuppence Middleton) to retrieve Jupiter. Jupiter gets caught in the middle of this inheritance battle when all she wants to do is be normal.
Story aside, the visual effects are spectacular, especially in 3-D. From the spaceship combat to the alien creatures, the universe the Wachowskis built is something to behold, mainly in its originality. I could see them delving even deeper in a sequel, which will probably happen.
Sadly, the writing is nothing to get excited about. Even though I went into this movie with semi-low expectations, I hoped for more from the script. Some scenes were just goofy when they were meant to be romantic or emotional. The only solid acting I noticed in this film is from Eddie Redmayne, who plays the evil Balem Abrasax. Speaking of goofy, the alien names could have been better.
If you are in the mood for a visual feast of action sci-fi fluff, go see Jupiter Ascending.
