Jupiter Ascending

In the year 1999, science fiction had a new cult film in everyone´s minds. The Matrix was something that we have never seen before. A very different sci fi film, with ground breaking special effects. To be honest, it might be one of the greatest sci fi action films of all time. What surprised me most of all back then, was to see Keanue Reeves do such a great performance, because i never really thought he was a great actor, unless you count in Speed. The Matrix was directed by The Wachowskis Brothers, and this gave them a chance to show the world a very different sci fi epic trilogy. There were 2 more movies released, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. The sequels could not match the quality of the first film, but were still entertaining. While The Matrix trilogy ended, The Wachowskis Brothers moved on to their next film V For Vendetta. A very different motion picture compared to their previous work, focusing on being a political thriller. Based on the 1982 Vertigo comic book by the same name, V For Vendetta , the story is based on the Guy Fawkes masked vigilante, known as " V ". He tries to help the people of United Kingdom from the fascist police. I actually enjoyed this film, because it both had an unique look, and the acting was really good from many of the actors. Unfortunately, The Wachowskis Brothers decided to do something that they should not have done with their next project. Speed Racer, a sports action film, based on the Japanese manga series by the same name, became a movie adaption of this popular series. It is awful, trust me. After i watched this film, i wanted to burn it, somewhere. I could not belive that the directors of The Matrix would do a film like this. They did, and i hope they will regret it for the rest of their lives. Thankfully, maybe they did listen to the bad reviews, and the fact that people did not like this film, so they moved on with their next project . Cloud Atlas, an enormous sci fi film , almost 3 hours long, had a both very unique visual style, also telling different stories in different time perspectives. Compared to Speed Racer, this was a masterpiece, compared to The Matrix, they did not manage to capture the same magic. Still it proved that they were trying to do something different again, and it was not all bad. So here we are with another sci fi film, named Jupiter Ascending. Is this the next epic sci fi film from The Wachowskis Brothers, or is this another release that you might as well forget ?

The residents of Earth have no idea, that they are in danger. Other life forms on other planets have been taken over by families of alien royalty. They are now targeting Earth , to harvest the planet, to make a youth serum. When the matriarch of the House of Abrasax dies, her children Balem ( Eddie Redmayne ), Kalique ( Tuppance Middleton ) and Titus ( Douglas Booth ), quarrel over the inheritance. Balem inherits an enormous production facility on Jupiter. Earth is their next source. Years go by, and on Earth, Jupiter ( Mila Kunis ) works with cleaning the homes of wealthy people, with her Aleksa ( Maria Doyle Kennedy and her aunt Nino ( Frog Stone ). Jupiter want to buy a telescope, but don´t have enough money to buy it. So she agree to sell her eggs, with the help of her cousin Vladie ( Kick Gurry ). Jupiter use the identity of her friend Katherine Dunlevy ( Vanessa Kirby ). While she stays in the home of Katherine, she becomes a witness that Katherine is attacked by extraterrestrial " Keepers ". Jupiter managed to take pictures of the extraterrestrial visitors, but she is discovered and her memory is erased. While  the egg donation procedure have started, it turns out that the doctors and nurses are identified as Balem's agents. They were sent to kill her, but she is saved by Caine Wise ( Channing Tatum ) , a genetically engineered ex-Soldier sent by Titus. Jupiter does not understand why Balem want her dead. She hope to get some answers at some point,  while Caine take Jupiter to one of his old friends Stinger Apini ( Sean Bean ). Chosen Balem hunters locate Jupiter and Caine, trying to wipe Caine out. They kidnap Jupiter and take her to Kalique´s Palace. Here Jupiter is told why she is so important, she is a genetically identical reincarnation of the dead matriarch. This makes her the rightful owner of Earth. Caine knows that Balem have other plans for Jupiter, so he needs to stop him before time is running out.

It is a good thing they will never make a sequel to Speed Racer again, or a remake, because that would be a disaster. To see The Wachowskis Brothers back into the sci fi genre again is great, because we know they can make great sci fi action films, if they find the right script. Jupiter Ascending could have been great, if they would have told the actors that they need to act, not to just talk into a camera. You see, the biggest problem here is that Mila Kunis is not a great lead role, and i know she can do better. She was good in the comedy Ted, with Mark Wahlberg, here she simply feels wrong for her character. She looks great, but that does not matter unless you actually act, then you might as well throw in someone else. And the villain Balem Abrasax, played by english actor Eddie Redmayne, is one of the worst villains of all time in a sci fi action film. I can´t belive that he choosed to play this character, considering he recently played Stephen Hawkins in The Theory Of Everything. He did win an Oscar for his performance, but here he should have won a razzie award for worst male actor. His voice is so annoying, you just want to strangle him right away. Channing Tatum as the hero, is ok, but not much more. He have done much better performances in the past, even if i am not a big fan. The CGI effects looks good, so i can´t complain about the look of the universe, and Jupiter. Still, what is left here is a big sci fi film, with plenty of action, but with a very dull twist. Jupiter Ascending tries to give us pieces of everything, gun battles, aliens, space wars, and i still feel that there are too many problems here. The Wachowskis Brothers was supposed to release this film long ago, but it was pushed back, for different reasons. Maybe they should have taken more time, to change some of the actors, and make the story more interesting. If you loved The Matrix trilogy, i have a feeling you will be dissapointed, because this is not one of the better Wachowskis Brothers films, actually one of their worse. Not as awful as Speed Racer, i doubt they will ever make anything as bad as that film again. But with the final results in our hands, Jupiter Ascending is not what we asked for. If i want to watch a good sci fi film, i can just watch Blade Runner again, while knowing i wont be let down.

Rating: DD