Just look at that Jupiter
I was too sick last weekend to go and see Jupiter Ascending so I did it today. And it was so beautiful. I just couldn't get enough of looking at it. There were moments when I wanted to be able to freeze it and then go frame by frame to be able to fully appreciate how beautiful it was. It was also a pretty fun action film with some political undertones and a pretty interesting science fiction concepts.
[Jupiter Ascending spoilers]
I really liked that the whole royalty thing didn't mean the space was run as a feudal system. Abrasax family is something between aristocracy and wealthy industrialist dynasty - think more Hiltons than British Royals. And they only one of such rich dynasties. They also don't run government - the bureaucracy, police (Aegis) and army are independent of them, although, of course, they have a lot of influence with all of them and they have their own, privet security forces.
This means that they couldn't stop Jupiter from getting her inheritance. Not that they all wanted to. Of the three primary heirs only Balem was against it. He was the one loosing his most priced possession - Earth - so he needed to do everything to stop Jupiter. And then tries to blackmail her to give it back to him.
Kalique was the good one in this because she was the one who was gaining from Balem misfortune. Her holdings were second to Balem but without Earth he's position will weaken and she is posed to gain from that. This is why she saved Jupiter and helped her to get to As her advisor said in the beginning it's all about mutual gain.
Titus of course also wanted her alive to get her inheritance. His plan was to use her to snatch Earth from Balem in a bid to gain an upper hand. He wasn't doing so well with his part of inheritance (maybe it's all those 3D orgies) so he's plan was to steal Balem's most prized possession. By getting Jupiter to marry him and killing her so he could get his hands on her inheritance.
Of course they are all evil as their wealth is based on killing people to prolong their lives. Space vampires Jupiter calls them and she is pretty right.
Balem didn't seed the Earth. That happened 100 000 years ago and the mother of the Abrasaxes was 91 000 years old. I don't know how long ago she died but it seems this industry was going on before any of them. No wonder noone even thinks about it as being wrong. Still I like the how it shows that there is nothing people wouldn't do if there is a gain involved. There was and still is son many horrific crimes committed for wealth. It's easy to believe this would be something that happened. Also made me think of Torchwood: Children of Earth.
It's much harder to believe that this is the only way of life extension for such an advanced civilisation. And wasn't it convenient that Jupiter was from Earth and that she was left Earth in the inheritance? What if she was from another planet? Or was left some other planets (was she left something besides Earth)? Or what if the planet she was to inherit was already harvested? Would she get another one of the same value? Of course this is also a film where a main character is named after Jupiter and the final confrontation happens on Jupiter so I shouldn't complain about convenient coincidences. And that's just nitpicking anyway. My real main issue with the movie was that there wasn't enough of it. I would like to explore that world more. I almost wish it was a TV series but TV would never have the money for this kind of pretty.
I generally liked Jupiter's story. It's a pretty standard chosen one story but I liked that she starts as a pawn of those who would like to exploit her status and ends up fighting for her own life in her own hands (starting with clothes). When she says no to Balem and then fights him it's finally becomes the titular character instead of MacGuffin. I even liked the love story between her and Caine. Even the wings.
I liked how Jupiter's family is contrasted with the Abrasaxes. We see both using her to gain control of Earth or money by selling her eggs but her real family actually cares - even the ones who seem awful at the start. And she appreciates it more once she met the alternative. Although I don't understand why she doesn't make herself win lottery or something so they don't need to clean toilets any more. She owns Earth and has at least some access to technology that allows rebuilding a city in a day. She could use it for more than sliding around a city in antigrav boots.
I loved the Terry Gilliam tribute with the bureaucracy planet being something straight out of Brasil both in function and in aesthetic (as I said beautiful film) with the man himself as the final step.
I liked that the cops were the good guys and I'm happy that Nikki Amuka-Bird was a the unambiguously good one in this.
The biggest shocker in the whole film - Sean Bean doesn't die. He even gets his wings back. Literally.
I had a lot fun watching it and it's something that I want to see again. It makes me sad it failed while 50 Shades of Creepiness is shaping up to be a big hit. Maybe I shouldn't compare it to a movie I'll never see but at least Jupiter sticks with people who listen when she says she wishes to change clothes by herself and while she's concious. And I'm pretty sure Jupiter Ascending has much better love story.
[Jupiter Ascending spoilers]
I really liked that the whole royalty thing didn't mean the space was run as a feudal system. Abrasax family is something between aristocracy and wealthy industrialist dynasty - think more Hiltons than British Royals. And they only one of such rich dynasties. They also don't run government - the bureaucracy, police (Aegis) and army are independent of them, although, of course, they have a lot of influence with all of them and they have their own, privet security forces.
This means that they couldn't stop Jupiter from getting her inheritance. Not that they all wanted to. Of the three primary heirs only Balem was against it. He was the one loosing his most priced possession - Earth - so he needed to do everything to stop Jupiter. And then tries to blackmail her to give it back to him.
Kalique was the good one in this because she was the one who was gaining from Balem misfortune. Her holdings were second to Balem but without Earth he's position will weaken and she is posed to gain from that. This is why she saved Jupiter and helped her to get to As her advisor said in the beginning it's all about mutual gain.
Titus of course also wanted her alive to get her inheritance. His plan was to use her to snatch Earth from Balem in a bid to gain an upper hand. He wasn't doing so well with his part of inheritance (maybe it's all those 3D orgies) so he's plan was to steal Balem's most prized possession. By getting Jupiter to marry him and killing her so he could get his hands on her inheritance.
Of course they are all evil as their wealth is based on killing people to prolong their lives. Space vampires Jupiter calls them and she is pretty right.
Balem didn't seed the Earth. That happened 100 000 years ago and the mother of the Abrasaxes was 91 000 years old. I don't know how long ago she died but it seems this industry was going on before any of them. No wonder noone even thinks about it as being wrong. Still I like the how it shows that there is nothing people wouldn't do if there is a gain involved. There was and still is son many horrific crimes committed for wealth. It's easy to believe this would be something that happened. Also made me think of Torchwood: Children of Earth.
It's much harder to believe that this is the only way of life extension for such an advanced civilisation. And wasn't it convenient that Jupiter was from Earth and that she was left Earth in the inheritance? What if she was from another planet? Or was left some other planets (was she left something besides Earth)? Or what if the planet she was to inherit was already harvested? Would she get another one of the same value? Of course this is also a film where a main character is named after Jupiter and the final confrontation happens on Jupiter so I shouldn't complain about convenient coincidences. And that's just nitpicking anyway. My real main issue with the movie was that there wasn't enough of it. I would like to explore that world more. I almost wish it was a TV series but TV would never have the money for this kind of pretty.
I generally liked Jupiter's story. It's a pretty standard chosen one story but I liked that she starts as a pawn of those who would like to exploit her status and ends up fighting for her own life in her own hands (starting with clothes). When she says no to Balem and then fights him it's finally becomes the titular character instead of MacGuffin. I even liked the love story between her and Caine. Even the wings.
I liked how Jupiter's family is contrasted with the Abrasaxes. We see both using her to gain control of Earth or money by selling her eggs but her real family actually cares - even the ones who seem awful at the start. And she appreciates it more once she met the alternative. Although I don't understand why she doesn't make herself win lottery or something so they don't need to clean toilets any more. She owns Earth and has at least some access to technology that allows rebuilding a city in a day. She could use it for more than sliding around a city in antigrav boots.
I loved the Terry Gilliam tribute with the bureaucracy planet being something straight out of Brasil both in function and in aesthetic (as I said beautiful film) with the man himself as the final step.
I liked that the cops were the good guys and I'm happy that Nikki Amuka-Bird was a the unambiguously good one in this.
The biggest shocker in the whole film - Sean Bean doesn't die. He even gets his wings back. Literally.
I had a lot fun watching it and it's something that I want to see again. It makes me sad it failed while 50 Shades of Creepiness is shaping up to be a big hit. Maybe I shouldn't compare it to a movie I'll never see but at least Jupiter sticks with people who listen when she says she wishes to change clothes by herself and while she's concious. And I'm pretty sure Jupiter Ascending has much better love story.