While most people this weekend are talking about 50 shades, thankfully that’s not in my genre, so I’m explaining why Jupiter Ascending was not for me.
Mila Kunis stars as Jupiter Jones, a Russian immigrant and a maid in Chicago who gets targeted by a ruthless family. Her life takes an unexpected turn when the genetically enhanced mercenary Channing Tatum comes looking for her. If you love pretty imagery, a fun science-fiction story with no science, you might love this film. The spaceships and buildings are gorgeous.
I watched it with my husband and my neighbor. We are all science fiction fans. Dennis and I didn’t enjoy it, while our neighbor did.
It was a beautiful movie, mixing science fiction with fantasy elements very reminiscent of Dune. For Dennis and me, there was serious storytelling flaws. I can’t suspend disbelief when magic boots save the day.
Before someone claims they weren’t magic, allow me to explain with this quote from the film.
Jupiter Jones: Are those flying boots?
Caine: They harness the force of gravity, redirecting it into differential equation slips so you can surf.
Jupiter Jones: Yeah, I heard “gravity” and “surf”.
Caine: Up is hard, Down is easy.
Jupiter Jones: Thank you, wow!
Wow is right. Because they still worked when there wasn’t gravity around. And when Caine hands were tied, he was able to burn through his bonds. Why would we assume that gravity = heat?
The film has the same issues with genetic modifications which is a major plot point which I won’t go into since I don’t want to give spoilers. Since it basically boils down to magic with the only explanation that we couldn’t understand due to our technological infancy, I rolled my eyes.
In fact, I rolled my eyes several times through the 127 minutes.
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