Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 127 minutes
Directed by: The Wachowskis
Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Terry Gilliam, David Ajala, James D’Arcy, Kick Gurry, Bae Doona
KRS Releasing Ltd

Mila Kunis is Jupiter Jones, who comes from Russia and works as a maid. Life does not seem to hold anything interesting for her but that is about to change.

She suddenly becomes the target of aliens who are all set to hunt and kill her. Her saviour comes in the form of a half-man, half-wolf warrior called Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a skyjacker who is on a mission from Titus (Douglas Booth), a universal royal who wants to get Jupiter back. Jupiter thus learns that she is supposed to be the reincarnation of the matriarch of a royal family which holds the rights of ownership of the universe.

This leads to Titus and his brother and sister, Balem (Eddie Redmayne) and Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), to take a good look at her. All have their own planets and plans and do not want her interfering. This includes Earth, but Caine sees that Jupiter is in danger and so involves Stinger (Sean Bean) who had been his superior and with whom he did not leave on good terms. Jupiter is lost in all this as she tries to grasp the reality she has been thrown into and also needs to decide what to do and if to take on Earth’s throne or not.

This short summary does not do justice to Jupiter Ascending. It has plots, sub-plots and layers that could and should have been fitted into three movies.

This is a Wachowski film and, like all their movies, it will divide the audience. The two film-makers, previously listed as The Wachowski Brothers (before Larry’s sex-change operation) have always delivered interesting and daring films, with visual splendour and intriguing concepts – from The Matrix in the 1990s, to the 1996 neo-noir thriller Bound, to 2008’s Speed Racer and 2012’s Cloud Altas, one of the most ambitious movies in recent memory.

Science fiction is the genre to usually push the envelope

Jupiter Ascending will not change this trend as it incorporates all their usual elements. However, speaking as an unabashed sci-fi fan, this film is the kind of rich space opera that lives on its high concepts and has long been missing from cinema screens.

Modern movies rely too much on recycling the same ideas over and over again. Science fiction is the genre to usually push the envelope.

Imagine film-making today without 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Dune and E.T. With Jupiter Ascending, the Wachowskis have delivered their own sci-fi pulp movie – a modernised version of the sci-fi serials so popular in the 1930s and post-World War II.

Minor quips aside, the film delivers the goods as it builds such a complex world and brings in so many elements to it to make everything seem credible. The action sequences are well handled, adrenaline-filled and gadget-laden to give the film its own identity.

In fact, this seems to be the Wachowskis’ ode to George Lucas’s Star Wars, as the gadgets are seamlessly inserted and provide the film with the right feeling of realism.

The beautiful cinematography makes this film a very strong visual experience.

Kunis fits in the whole proceedings while Tatum emerges well as an action hero. In fact, he reminded me of Bruce Willis in one of my favourite sci-fi films, The Fifth Element (1997).

An interesting aside here is a cameo by director Terry Gilliam in what is a homage to his 1985 classic, Brazil.

Jupiter Ascending delivers the right stuff and will have sci-fi and action movie fans gushing.