The Wachowskis Returning to Sci-Fi with Jupiter Ascending - Part 1

[Octoberist]

I just don't why this movie had bad buzz from the very start?

Was it strictly the casting?

 

[MadVillainy]

I think the name sounds kinda corny so maybe that was it a little.

Possibly also because it's a "high concept" (I think Im using that correctly) sci fi story that almost sounds like a suped up fairy tale.

I think for me the thing that kinda threw me off was Tatum's make up. It kinda made the movie look really corny to me. And then in the first trailer Eddie Redmayne's acting looked terrible and Mila Kunis didnt look much better.

I still hope Im wrong about this

 

[Octoberist]

I mean, I guess it's like, us nerds crave more space operas. More original content. And when something like this comes around, it's literally DOA from the very start of his marketing campaign.

The movie might suck, but man, it never was given a shot by the masses.

 

[MadVillainy]

I mean, I guess it's like, us nerds crave more space operas. More original content. And when something like this comes around, it's literally DOA from the very start of his marketing campaign.

The movie might suck, but man, it never was given a shot by the masses.

That's why I say everyone needs to be quiet about this original property stuff.

 

[Loki882]

The marketing for the movie has been terrible. Not only was there not enough of it, but what they did show didn't really get people excited. I hold District 9 up as a prime example of a movie that might have fallen by the wayside (despite being really good) except that it had a brilliant marketing campaign. This movie seems like the opposite of that.

 

[Octoberist]

HMM? Do you think Distict 9's reputation has slowly fallen?

 

[MadVillainy]

I think its still regarded as one of the better sci films in the last 10 years. However I havent revisited it since the year it was released

Neill Blomkamp has slightly fallen to me. I mean he only released 1 other film and I think reception on that is really mixed and then Chappie is coming out but that doesnt look that special to me either

 

[Octoberist]

Yeah it's not a rewatchable film despite it being good.

And with Chappie dude, it's just more of the same. It's weird because that sort of thing is okay with, let's say Wes Anderson's style, because he's a great storyteller. It's same but different per movie and he always manages to surprise you. Same thing with Tarantino.

Blomkamp to me hasn't proven that he's a good storyteller besides his work on District 9. And he's coming off as a dude who is harvesting his inner teenager with his concepts. Like with WILD CATS and Jim Lee; a work of passion but not very good.

 

[Loki882]

I still love it personally. But even if I didn't, my point about the marketing campaign (and that WAS my point) still stands.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I mean, I guess it's like, us nerds crave more space operas. More original content. And when something like this comes around, it's literally DOA from the very start of his marketing campaign.

The movie might suck, but man, it never was given a shot by the masses.

Eh, I thin it's a number of things. While it's true that geeks like us always cry out for space operas and original content, we also want those films to be good. I didn't have anything against this movie initially, but after seeing the first trailer, I was pretty underwhelmed. Tatum and Kunis just looked like they don't belong there and the visuals, though cool, weren't enough to make it a must-see. The fact that it's the Wachowskis also makes me doubtful about the film, since (IMO) they haven't made a good movie since the FIRST Matrix.

And then the movie got pushed back to a February release. That's not an absolutely confirmation that it's a turd, but it understandably leaves moviegoers skeptical. More recent footage hasn't done much to ease that skepticism.

 

[green]

I don't care what any of you say…Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas were fantastic movies.
I'll see anything the W's make.

 

[Octoberist]

Dude, Cloud Atlas and Speed Racer rocked.

 

[green]

Dude, Cloud Atlas and Speed Racer rocked.

 

[cronosred]

From the trailers I think this looks like a fun sci-fi adventure, can't wait.

 

[redhawk23]

I don't care what any of you say…Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas were fantastic movies.
I'll see anything the W's make.

Cloud Atlas would have been a lot better had it kept the structure of the book and trusted its audience to make connections themselve rather than intercutting the stories at varied times to make the reflections and repetitions immediate.

 

[green]

Cloud Atlas would have been a lot better had it kept the structure of the book and trusted its audience to make connections themselve rather than intercutting the stories at varied times to make the reflections and repetitions immediate.

That doesn't change the fact that they did a fantastic job of making a basically unfilmable book into a coherent and riveting movie with many layers.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I liked the visuals in the future segment.

I really do wish Jupiter Ascending looked better as I love sci fi.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Yeah, I still have to go back all the way to the first Matrix to see a great Wachowskis' film. I hope they do something smaller next time, but they will probably be put in director jail for a bit.

 

[matrix_ghost]

I just don't why this movie had bad buzz from the very start?

Was it strictly the casting?

It was more about the marketing as well as the movie not showing something that really makes you go "wow i wanna see that". It's basically the same "someone who doesn't know what his/her fate is and doesn't realise that said person is special , has a guardian and everyone wants to kill him/her".

Guardians of Galaxy had an excellent marketing with the music choice as well as Starlord being an earthling stuck in a particular timeframe which helps with the nostalgia factor. Not to mention people loved Groot ( i personally don't see what the big deal is with hearing I AM GROOT for the zillionth time in the movie and raving about it but w/e)

 

[The Shape]

Cloud Atlas would have been a lot better had it kept the structure of the book and trusted its audience to make connections themselve rather than intercutting the stories at varied times to make the reflections and repetitions immediate.

Agreed.

 

[Nonsuch]

Cloud Atlas would have been a lot better had it kept the structure of the book and trusted its audience to make connections themselve rather than intercutting the stories at varied times to make the reflections and repetitions immediate.

While I understand the point, I must disagree. The Russian-doll structure Mitchell used for the novel would translate poorly to screen, and the Wachowskis and Tykwer were absolutely right to cut between the different stories throughout the movie. Many viewers found the film difficult to follow as it was, so I expect it would have been deemed full-on incoherent if they'd used the novel's structure - the radically different natures of the stories mean they could have easily come across as completely disconnected, whereas the film conveyed the recurring themes and narrative commonalities very effectively.

While the novel could convey its underlying themes through its use of language etc., the film had to rely on the language of cinema - so editing and visuals (while they do explore the themes through the dialogue as well, they come across much more strongly through the use of cinematic technique).

And to stay on topic, I'm very much looking forward to Jupiter Ascending. It feels like a breath of fresh air from what I've seen so far, and it's refreshing to have a new space opera.

 

[Lord]

I'm all for original new properties, but i simply don't like what i see, from the trailer it all feels to generic and forgetable i even thought at first that it was based on some new young adult novel. Good luck to them, but it doesn't seem very good to me, unlike something like Pacific Rim, which was also an original property with many elements and beats from other works, but that i feel ended up working.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I think the name sounds kinda corny so maybe that was it a little.

Possibly also because it's a "high concept" (I think Im using that correctly) sci fi story that almost sounds like a suped up fairy tale.

I think for me the thing that kinda threw me off was Tatum's make up. It kinda made the movie look really corny to me. And then in the first trailer Eddie Redmayne's acting looked terrible and Mila Kunis didnt look much better.

I still hope Im wrong about this

Redmayne's performance actually looks to be the most interesting part of the movie. As over the top as it might be, it he does a wonderful job of doing so.

 

[redhawk23]

That doesn't change the fact that they did a fantastic job of making a basically unfilmable book into a coherent and riveting movie with many layers.

That's the thing, I didn't find it to be particularly riveting and the constant intercutting made it more convoluted rather than less. What exactly is so "unfilmable" about the book exactly?

 

[redhawk23]

While I understand the point, I must disagree. The Russian-doll structure Mitchell used for the novel would translate poorly to screen, and the Wachowskis and Tykwer were absolutely right to cut between the different stories throughout the movie. Many viewers found the film difficult to follow as it was, so I expect it would have been deemed full-on incoherent if they'd used the novel's structure - the radically different natures of the stories mean they could have easily come across as completely disconnected, whereas the film conveyed the recurring themes and narrative commonalities very effectively.

While the novel could convey its underlying themes through its use of language etc., the film had to rely on the language of cinema - so editing and visuals (while they do explore the themes through the dialogue as well, they come across much more strongly through the use of cinematic technique).

And to stay on topic, I'm very much looking forward to Jupiter Ascending. It feels like a breath of fresh air from what I've seen so far, and it's refreshing to have a new space opera.

I fully agree that they needed to use the language of cinema to convey their ideas. That did not have to mean showing things in succession. They could have done it via costuming (which they actually did do often), as well as framing, set design or music. Really with the intercutting they simply didn't trust their imagery. They didn't trust their audience the way the original author did.