BackFim Review: Jupiter Ascending
The Wachowskis' sluggish sci-fi caper
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The Wachowski siblings (Andy and Lana), who brought us the hugely successful Matrix franchise and Cloud Atlas, zip around the galaxy between Earth and Jupiter in their latest sci-fi caper, Jupiter Ascending. We follow Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), whose humdrum life as a Russian immigrant in the US is far from the greatness her stars foretold for her. Jupiter works alongside her mother, cleaning grand homes in Chicago. She wakes up at the crack of dawn every day with the same reprise, “I hate my life". But when aliens and genetically engineered bounty hunters start attacking those close to her and chasing her, Jupiter faces an unimaginable adventure that reminds her of the importance of the simple things in life.
It emerges that Jupiter’s genetic make-up is the same as that of the most powerful ruler in the solar system. Since the queen is dead and Jupiter has the same DNA configuration, she becomes astronomically valuable to the feuding heirs Balem (Eddie Redmayne), Titus (Douglas Booth) and Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), who are all vying for inter-galactic real estate. The idea of the entitled preying on the weak is an overt theme as humans are harvested to provide vital ingredients for the elixir of youth.
One day Jupiter is scrubbing bathrooms and harbouring Cinderella-like dreams, the next day she is being addressed as Your Majesty and has elaborate gowns and headdresses. Her prince charming, Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), comes with vampire teeth, miniature Doctor Spock ears, clipped wings and gravity-defying boots. Their love story is more repellent than the mutant lizards or Redmayne’s rasping voice. When Jupiter propositions Caine, he says he has more in common with a dog than with her. She replies, “I love dogs, I’ve always loved dogs."
This line virtually summarizes Jupiter’s intelligence and powers of reasoning. She blindly follows Caine into the vast unknown, only to finally fight free, come back to Earth and be shipped off again. Space travel here is as easy as taking a Mumbai-Delhi flight.
There are the odd moments when you recall Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium, and notice the emphasis on styling and graphics. But the ambitious action scenes and special effects are second-rate, just like the sluggish and punctured script.
Jupiter Ascending released in theatres on Friday.
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