'Jupiter Ascending': An In-Depth Look At The Wachowski's Space Opera
‘Jupiter Ascending’ the Wachowski’s epic journey into space will be looking to expand our universe in July. The problem is we might just not be ready for it. A space opera of gigantic proportions, the new trailer has given us our best idea yet of what to expect from this out of this world summer blockbuster.
The Wachowski’s siblings are of course the minds that brought us 'The Matrix' trilogy, which set a pretty high bar for their future big screen endeavours. Their last outing ‘Cloud Atlas’ received a mixed response from critics, some thought it was an ambitious success which thoroughly paid off, while others found it a bit too much on all levels. If it’s an ambitious project you’re looking for, though, you might want to turn your attention to ‘Jupiter Ascending’. This intergalactic sci-fi adventure might just be the best showcase of the Wachowski’s writing and visual talents since the first ‘Matrix’.
Mila Kunis leads the cast playing Jupiter Jones, a Ukrainian immigrant who works as a janitor and is considered to have a pretty ordinary boring life. What she doesn't know is she posseses the ‘same perfect genetic makeup as the Queen of the Universe’ and her life is about to get a whole lot more interesting. Her life is changed when she is captured and nearly murdered, before her would-be assassin, played by Channing Tatum saves her life. Tatum plays Caine, an ex military hunter who boasts both human and wolf DNA (which might explain his pointy ears.) He then sets out to try and make Jupiter understand the she might the the Universe’s next queen as the stars were pointing to an extraordinary event on the night she was born. Alongside Tatum and Kunis, Sean Bean stars as ‘Stinger’ who’s described as a ‘Hans Solo’ type character. There’s also up and coming actor Douglas Booth who will soon be seem in Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah' as the titular character’s son.
The trailer in itself is pretty breathtaking. We see Caine’s rescue of Jupiter and the subsequent explanation of her destiny, Sean Bean is on hand to help here. We also get a hint of a romance between Jupiter and her now protector Caine. There’s also a good look at the other worldly characters who look very stylised but overall pretty awesome. The costumes in this also look as fantastic and grand as you'd expect them to be. What is perhaps most awe inspiring is the visual landscape surrounding these characters. With the blank canvas of a whole universe to create the Wachowski’s seemed to have gone all out and assembled something truly extraordinary looking, to use as a back drop to the action. The CGI is also looking pretty impressive particularly in the spaceships and planets.
_Next page: Watch the 'Jupiter Ascending' trailer
Apart from the action, the trailer makes the film’s human plot very clear. A young girl is struggling to understand and accept her destiny. Fan’s of _‘Buffy the Vampire Slaye_r’ will agree that this is a character trait that always finds resonance with audiences. It is perhaps this vital plot point that might enable it to find an audience outside the usual sci-fi or action crowds. Yes its epic and blockbusting but it may contain more depth than most of these movie’s allow.
‘Jupiter Acsending’ might make many risky box office bet lists for the summer and it’s understandable. The Wachowski’s often layer their work with a complexity that turns a lot of people off before they’ve managed to understand it. But in a summer filled with reboots and sequel’s the sibling duo have opened their imagination for us to create something unique and intriguing. If the trailer lives up to expectations, this one might just find it’s destiny and ascend to the top of the box office in the summer of blockbusters.
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