21 February 2015

Jupiter Ascending, 2015 - ★★★½


Jupiter Ascending is not a bad film but it's also not a great one either. Apart from a drab opening 20 minutes on Earth it deserves much more credit than any of the one star reviews it's receiving. Once Sean Bee-an turns up, things kick into action and some interesting ideas are presented in a fresh ways. Some of the finer details of the plot may get lost along the way but I wasn't sure if this was down to bad writing or the poor acoustics in King's Hall. There are a few clunky lines but funnily enough not the "I love dogs" ones which have been taken out of context in many discussions.


I also feel like I have to defend Eddie Redmayne as well. This isn't a bad performance just an odd choice about how to play the character. However it is consistently performed and surprisingly fitting for a millennia old man in a young body.


The effects are all good and there are no issues of blending CGI with live action which continues to be a huge problem for most special effects heavy films. I think I may have awarded an extra star just because the finale doesn't feature a floating structure falling apart over a city.


Apart from that first act (which causes some drag towards the end of the running time) it's always entertaining and never boring which can't be said of something like Inherent Vice which was all over the place.


February 21, 2015 at 12:08PM

No comments: