MOVIE: Jupiter Ascending - the best Sci/Fi movie of the last few years

Today I’ve watched the „Jupiter Ascending” in 3D at Cinema City in AFI Palace Cotroceni (not familiar? – that’s in Bucharest, Romania).

Cinema City
A place I feel like home

I can tell you that I’ve waited for this movie since I’ve ever seen its trailer for the first time, and I think that was when „The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies” had its premiere in Bucharest, or even earlier (I feel so bad I don’t remember the movie anymore. I think I have in my genes my great grandfather’s Alzheimer). From all the trailers presented before the movie started this one was the one that made me say “I must see this movie!”

Well, the waiting ended up today and I am more than satisfied. 

Not only that we have the beautiful Mila Kunis as the main character, but there is also the very handsome and good in all things Channing Tatum as the former bad soldier, rejected by his kin, who saves the situation and the father of the Trojan horse, Odysseus….I mean Sean Bean. 

And this year new Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne is the villain (known for Pillars of the Earth)! What could possibly go wrong?

Besides, the movie was directed by the Wachowski brothers, Lana and Andy, who were both engaged in the past in some serious projects. Does “V for Vendetta” and “The Matrix” series ring a bell?

ATTENTION!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!

She looks great in red

Mila Kunis (who is well known for her roles in “Black Swan”, “Ted”, “The Book of Eli”, “Friends with benefits” etc. etc.) is the main character (Jupiter Jones). She played her role incredibly well, by showing us emotions, humility and in the end, power. Her character got more mature as the movie advanced. She is not that kind of princess that needs to be saved (even though Caine Wise is the one who kept her alive for the entire movie), she is independent and even willing to marry an alien prince for the sake of the Earth and beats the hell out of Lord Balem with a crowbar, as they stand on a high building that is about to collapse under the weight of Jupiter’s hurricanes and explosions provoked by the two parts.

Her big eyes melted my heart twice when she realized Channing Tatum wouldn’t kiss her (I would’ve kissed her and I’m straight) and those eyes looked at the camera in the end, while she said to lord Balem that she was not his reincarnated mother, letting us to understand that there is not a good idea messing with Her Highness.

Next in line is the most incredible and very, very good looking Channing Tatum, who doesn’t need any other introduction (but still… “Step Up 1 and 2”, “Public Enemies”, “The Eagle”, “21 Jump street” aaaand…. do I hear giggles, ladies? Yes. This is the man that put Mike in “Magic Mike” etc. etc.). Even though Mila Kunis is the main character, it seems to me that everything in this story was possible due to Magic Mike… I mean Caine Wise. He saved Jupiter Jones so many times that I thought for a good part of the movie that he was the main character, not Jupiter. And even though he is rejected by his kin because of his half albino skin color, and by his fellow soldiers for having ripped the throat of some royalty with his teeth, an unfortunate event that got his wings removed, he trusts Jupiter and risks his life for her. Even though he rejects Jupiter twice, her big eyes and kiss made him reconsider and kiss her back and he risks his life to save her for the entire movie.

Favorite scene

He is the medieval chevalier type, who would do anything for the princess. The reason he saved her in the first time at the hospital, was justified: Lord Titus offered him money to save her and bring her to him and it remained justified for the rest of the movie. But I think that wanting the forgiveness and getting his wings and job back was only a pretext. I believe he found something even more meaningful to him: his own redemption and confidence. He defeated his loneliness and the prejudices. He has found somebody that would accept him as he was, no matter his past. The clues are everywhere in the movie, especially when Stinger Apini, his former comrade, talks about Caine’s behavior and the event that lead to the cutting their both wings.  A clue about that is found at the end, when Caine has his wings back, kisses Jupiter and flies with her, in freedom.

In my opinion, he is the main character, the hero of this story. He is the one that truly fights (both for Jupiter and Earth) and gains something more than his wings and pardon. He gets Stinger Apini back as a friend and Jupiter as his girlfriend and he gets himself back. Caine Wise, as interpreted by Channing Tatum is by far one of my favorite characters of all time.

“Jupiter Ascending” is an extraordinary story. Yes, we do see some elements that we usually see in other movies too, but hey! Without them, what course this story should take? I liked that at one moment Caine was going to fight a winged reptilian, which was in the command of the Lord Balem’s troops (some sort of Bolg or Azog in “The Hobbit”) and Caine was not… I repeat: WAS NOT beaten to death by him. In fact, he ended the reptilian really fast… And I thought that what was going next was a boring scene where the directors wanted to show that the hero is not that powerful and that he could only defeat his opponent only by using his brain. Tadam! I am happy they excluded that. Channing Tatum is awesome!

To conclude this: I gave this movie 10 points on IMDB (it has only 5,9. I think it deserves better). I really, really enjoyed it. And I think tomorrow I am going to pay another visit to Cinema City to watch it again. I was not a Channing Tatum fan and I underestimated his acting qualities (I don’t know why), but now I think I am going to watch more of his movies. 

Don't download this movie! Watch it in cinema or buy it!

Please excuse my bad English!