An absurd sci-fi space opera that embraces its absurdity instead of making fun of it.
64/100
Original Release: 2015
Director: The Wachowskis
Cast: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean
Favourite Quote:
In your world, people are used to fighting for resources... like oil, or minerals, or land. But when you have access to the vastness of space, you realize there's only one resource worth fighting over... even killing for: More time. Time is the single most precious commodity in the universe.
Favourite Shot:
The Wachowskis seventh film Jupiter Ascending is usually toward the bottom of the list when you ask people what their favourite Wachowski film is. It was a film critically panned, and mocked after its release, gaining six golden raspberry awards nominations (winning one). And it is a film that still doesn’t seem to have many fans. So how does a pair of respected and loved directors fall so far from the huge success of The Matrix?
Each film since has been regarded as a flop, but critically have not been panned as much as this one. Expectations are a part of it. Fans of The Matrix flocking to each film in hopes that they can recreate the success of their second film. But also because the Wachowskis are unapologetic in their approach to filmmaking. They have their vision for a film and they set out to achieve this vision without any thoughts toward what people will think. That’s how they made The Matrix and that’s how they’ve made every film since. And if you are still expecting them to do something they have already done, you are going to be disappointed every time.
But there are things that stay true about their filmmaking throughout every film they have made. And it is a reason why this film, which is a space opera filled with world building and wacky decisions, didn’t capture the hearts of fans as much as something like James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy did.
Jupiter Ascending is achingly sincere. It is an absurd film about a girl named Jupiter Jones that works as a toilet cleaner, but, unbeknownst to her, is also the owner of the Earth. It’s an absurd premise and there are many moments of absurdity throughout the film. But the Wachowskis never poke fun at this. There is no sense of sarcasm in the film at all. No “Look at this guy” jokes. Jokes that Marvel tend to make so often in their films.
In a Marvel film you’d have some character laugh at the absurdity of it all, but the Wachowskis give it to us with a straight face. And it is refreshing to have a film that wants to have all of these wacky ideas, without feeling the need to make fun of themselves for it.
And there is nothing wrong with sarcasm and poking fun, it is something Marvel often do well. They balance sarcasm and sincereness. And in this internet age of memes, and making fun of everything. This style appeals to the people of this generation. Whereas the Wachowskis are more like the kids at school that were bullied for taking everything so seriously. Which is unfair. Both approaches to these types of films are fine, but you rarely see the sincere approach that the Wachowskis take in this film, making it much more of a risk. If you aren’t prepared to take this film seriously, you are not going to enjoy it.
Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) works for her family’s cleaning business, spending her time cleaning rich people’s toilets. Little does she know that she is genetically identical to the matriach of the house of Abrasax, a powerful alien dynasty that owns the Earth, making her the rightful owner. When the children of Abrasax find out about her existence her life is endangered.
All three children, Balem (Eddie Redmayne), Titus (Douglas Booth) and Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), want the Earth for their own and try to kill her before she can claim it. But, with the help of a genetically-engineered soldier, Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), who is half human and half dog, she manages to escape the hunters that have been sent to kill her.
In this first section we are given some stunning shots in space, of Jupiter and of Saturn. It’s a film that would have been truly breathtaking in an IMAX. The creatures that attempt to kill Jupiter have an eerie design and are quite scary to look at. And there is some interesting dialogue between Caine and Jupiter in which Jupiter is trying to convince herself that what is happening is a dream because it is the only way what is happening makes sense.
To which Cain replies: “Compared to what? The idea that you’re the only intelligent species, on the only inhabitable planet, in a universe so full of planets that you don’t even have a number to describe how many there are.” Again the Wachowskis are exploring this idea that everything is not what it seems, and that we are constantly ignorant toward what is actually happening in the world, because we’d rather not know.
From here the film introduces us to Stinger (Sean Bean), a former comrade of Cain that has been exiled to Earth. Stinger explains all of this to Jupiter, informing her that she is royalty. The irony being that the owner of the Earth has been cleaning ‘rich’ people’s toilets for a living.
There is a cute scene in which all of the bees at Stinger’s house surround Jupiter and react to her will. The point being that bees can identify royalty (because QUEEN-bee). But no character pokes fun at this. In a Marvel film you’d have some character laugh at the absurdity of it all, but the Wachowskis give it to us with a straight face. And it is refreshing to have a film that wants to have all of these wacky ideas, without feeling the need to make fun of themselves for it.
Jupiter is captured by bounty hunters and brought to Kalique’s palace on another planet. Kalique explains that alien royalty use planets such as Earth to produce a youth serum which makes aliens and humans live and stay young forever. To do this they wait until there are enough organisms on the planet before they harvest it, killing everyone as a result.
The serum is the greatest resource in the galaxy, which is why owning the Earth will prove worthy to the Abrasax children. As they so often do, the Wachowskis are commenting on our capitalist world. The rich literally use the deaths of other humans to continue being in power.
Jupiter is rescued by Cain and taken to the intergalactic capital planet to claim the Earth. There is a great sequence which is an obvious homage to Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’ (Gilliam makes an appearance as well) and then Jupiter is captured again, this time by Titus Abrasax. A common criticism of the film is that Jupiter is captured, does nothing and is saved. Then Jupiter is captured, does nothing and is saved again. But arguably this is the whole point of the film.
Each time Jupiter is captured she is offered something. A way to live that will benefit someone else. And each time she rejects these offers to do her own thing, to continue being herself. The toilet cleaner from Chicago. Rarely do we see characters like this in these types of films. Most of the time they will succumb to the greed and the money of royalty, only to realise they’ve made a mistake. But Jupiter never succumbs, she stays true to herself despite the temptations.
Titus tries to get Jupiter to marry her. At the last second Caine breaks in and saves her. And they return to Earth only to find that her family has been kidnapped by the last Abrasax sibling, Balem. One way the film doesn’t work is its action scenes. They seem to be just put in there for the sake of it. A means to an end. Jupiter needs to get rescued so we need a fight scene here.
It is the first time in the Wachowskis' films that I’ve thought ‘this was lazy’. It’s the first time the heart and passion didn’t come through, and it is probably another reason behind the film’s critical and commercial failure. The directors that are so known for their action scenes, have made a film filled with lazy action scenes.
The final action scene is the best one of them all though. They seemed to have put all their chips into the last one. But it shines more because of Redmayne’s performance. Called ‘over the top’ by critics, personally I think Redmayne’s performance is the best performance in the film. He seems to be the only one that understands what the Wachowskis wanted.
Kunis and Tatum are fine, but they also fail to capture this sincereness that the Wachowskis are going for. They are making an absurd film, and they want you to give absurd performances. And Redmayne gives an absurd performance that, at the same time, isn’t poking fun at the absurdity of it at all. And that is the tone that the film is trying to reach. And Redmayne is the only one truly up to the task.
In the final scene, inside the red planet of Jupiter, he gives a monologue in which he says lines like “I create life!”, “To live is to consume”, “The human beings on your planet are merely a resource waiting to be converted into capital” and “Every human society is a pyramid and some lives will always matter more than others.” Once again Cain saves Jupiter and her family. They space rollerskate into the sunset. Jupiter returns to Earth and continues cleaning toilets. And it is clear that the Earth is now in better hands.
Jupiter Ascending is a wacky film filled with so many unusual creatures that you lose count, quirky (and at times terribly cringe) dialogue, an absurd premise and complex ideas that are actually explored. And it is a film that is dead serious. Although there are times when it’s really hard to buy into this seriousness, it is a film that is wholly The Wachowskis' vision and it is a vision that is a joy to watch.
Read the interview with film critic Sean Gilman about Jupiter Ascending here.
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