Mila Kunis’ much anticipated new movie, the big budget sci-fi action film from the Wachowski’s called “Jupiter Ascending, ” is coming out this Friday to less than stellar reviews. The film will probably not mark Kunis’ breakout as a bona fide movie star and not just another pretty face, nor will it mark a major comeback for the Wachowski’s who have not won praise since the first “Matrix” film.
It is telling when a big budget studio action movie is released in February. If the studio thought highly of its chances of doing well at the box office then it would have released the movie in one of the major movie seasons like the early summer or in December.
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Audiences who got to see a screening of the movie at Sundance last month were not impresses and the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes gives only a 60% rating.
The story seems convoluted and even the movie’s trailer was hard to follow. Apparently Kunis, who plays Jupiter Jones, must do something to save the Earth and all of humanity by fighting the Queen of the universe or something like that. Channing Tatum plays a genetically engineered man who comes to her rescue.
Variety said, “A disappointing step backwards for the Wachowskis, who lose themselves in an over-designed, underdeveloped ‘Star Wars’-style land grab in space.”
The Hollywood Reporter said, “Even with all its familiar action tropes, less-than-fresh special effects and loopy plotting, the most depressing element in the Wachowski siblings’ latest sci-fi mash is that, as they conceive it, human society has been around for more than a billion years but is still presided over by a rivalrous British-style royal family that treacherously behaves as if it were the 1550s. Won’t the ruling class ever learn? With costumes and elaborate hairdos just slightly less risible than those in the Wachowskis’ last outing, Cloud Atlas, but with similarly underachieved, outsized aims, Jupiter Ascending at least possesses familiar sci-fi genre elements that are promotable to its target audience and will thereby generate reasonable returns, especially overseas. But anyone hoping for the old Matrix magic to rematerialize (it’s been 15 years) is due for more disappointment.”
But The Wrap liked the movie while acknowledging its shortcomings saying, “Mila Kunis is a toilet-scrubbing Queen of Outer Space and Channing Tatum her part-pooch paramour in a silly adventure that’s fun from start to finish.”
