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Movie review: 'Jupiter Ascending' turns into mission unaccomplished

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Picture

Movie review: 'Jupiter Ascending' turns into mission unaccomplished

Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) speaks for us all when she asks, “Can this get any weirder?”

Why, yes it can, although the better question is, just what were Andy and Lana Wachowski thinking and did they imagine a longer, more profound movie? Watching the sci-fi epic “Jupiter Ascending” is like trying to read a map without a key that explains what any of the symbols or foreign-language abbreviations mean or how many miles are represented by an inch.

'Jupiter Ascending'

Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum. 

Rating: PG-13 for some violence, sequences of sci-fi action, some suggestive content and partial nudity. 


Can’t initially figure out who’s who or what’s what? By the time you do, you may no longer care. Its sense of peril is out of this world, literally and figuratively, but you never feel that urgency. 

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“Jupiter Ascending” is an original story about the daughter of Russians (Jupiter’s astrophysicist father was murdered before her birth) who lives with her extended family in close quarters in Chicago and works as a cleaning woman. “I hate my life,” Jupiter mutters when the alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m. and she spends her days scrubbing the toilets of wealthy people and her nights dining with domineering relatives. 

She’s swept away from this planet by Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a professional tracker who is a human with a splice of wolf DNA, which explains the freaky ears. It turns out Jupiter’s genetic profile ties her to three squabbling siblings (Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton and Eddie Redmayne who, alternates between a hard-to-hear whisper and rages) who may control the fate of the Earth and Jupiter herself. 

It suggests we are not alone in the universe. In fact, Earth is nothing more than an outpost for galactic commerce where people are valued but not in a way we would ever choose.   

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“Jupiter Ascending” is an original story, by the Wachowski siblings (“The Matrix”), which is an increasing rarity in these risk-averse days of sequels, prequels and graphic-novel adaptations. It had been scheduled for a July 2014 release and was delayed nearly seven months, rarely a good sign but not a definitive indication of doom.

With a reported budget of $150 million to $175 million, it looks as though the money was poured into elaborate costumes including a headdress worn by Ms. Kunis of ruby-colored flowers and sparkling crystals; futuristic flourishes such as boots allowing Mr. Tatum to surf along the air as though inline skating; extended high-flying fight and chase scenes; and the creation of fantastical worlds blending real backdrops such as London’s Natural History Museum and a cathedral elsewhere in England with dizzying, digital imagery.

“Jupiter Ascending” is, at its heart, a Cinderella story about a woman whose heartbroken, disillusioned mother told her, “Love is just a fairy tale for little girls” but discovers otherwise. “Jupiter Ascending” reaches for the stars and beyond but drops back to Earth gently, a noble failure. 

Movie editor Barbara Vancheri:  bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632.

 

First Published: February 6, 2015, 5:00 a.m.

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Eddie Redmayne as Balem Abrasax in "Jupiter Ascending."  (Courtesy of Warner Bros. Picture)
Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis star in "Jupiter Ascending."
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Picture
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