Jupiter Ascending – enjoyable but not an Oscar winner

(From IMDb): Beyond Earth, beyond our Sun, one family has ruled life on every habitable planet in the universe for millennia: The House of Abrasax. Now following the death of its matriarch, her three primary heirs the Abrasax siblings, Balem, Kalique and Titus are at war, and the state of their dynasty is in turmoil. But another heir has emerged whose claim may be even greater than theirs. A young woman born on Earth, unknowingly carries a genetic legacy that entitles her to power beyond her imagining and the ability to reshape the House of Abrasax and with it, the fate of her planet. With the help of an ex-military hunter who becomes her only ally, Jupiter Jones is forced to leave her ordinary existence behind and confront her true destiny.

My Review

I’m not a sci-fi reader but I love sci fi films.  Independence Day, ranks at the top of my list followed by Star Wars IV, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; E.T.; and yes, Wall-ee.  I was really hoping to add Jupiter Ascending to my list of faves because it just looked so good, but while I found it enjoyable, it wasn’t a movie I’d go see again.

The story is about a young maid, Jupiter Jones (played by Mila Kunis from Black Swan fame), who finds out there is much more to her life than cleaning toilets for the rich.  While trying to make some extra money, she is assaulted and almost murdered by some aliens disguised as humans, that is until the hero of the hour, ex-military hunter, Caine Wise (the delicious Channing Tatum), steps in to steal the day and save the girl.  Wise takes her to his buddy’s house, Stringer Apini (played by the incomparable Sean Bean), where Jupiter makes friends with thousands of bees because she’s the —

Nope, not gonna tell you.  No spoilers from me.

Anyway, Jupiter is wanted by three heirs to the House of Abrasax for various reasons, most of them being so she doesn’t gain control of, and own, Earth.

The plot was eh, not great, not bad. There were some funny parts and some excellent acting from Eddie Redmayne who plays Balem Abrasax. Whoa, his performance is amazing. What a calm, cool, collected villain, until he goes all holler on his minions.  Now HIS performance could win an Oscar. It’s so Brando in so many ways.

The film has hints of the cult film, Brazil, The Matrix, and Promethius. A little past, a little present, something old, something new.  There is even a brilliant cameo performance by the great Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame. (the scene is brilliant and one allll of us can relate to).

While I wouldn’t go out and grab this right away when it comes out on DVD, it wasn’t bad and I didn’t feel cheated out of my $$. For those who like a lot of action and blow-em up scenes, Jupiter Ascending has got it.  The story moved fast. I never once asked myself, “When is this going to be over.”  It was fun, enjoyable, campy even.

I give it a solid 3.5-stars.  It’s  a descent film, just not Oscar-winning, but not all films have to win the golden statue to be fun and worthy in its own right. I see Jupiter Ascending becoming the next cult film.

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