It’s a bit of a tradition that my friends and I go see a “bad” movie for my birthday. It didn’t start out that way. It’s just that most February movies are super bad so a couple of years ago we just decided to go with it. I really, really wanted to see this movie for some reason. And to be honest?
It wasn’t as bad as it’s made out to be. Even my friend who was most skeptical (really, she was just glad I didn’t say 50 Shades of Gray) enjoyed it. Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a super adorable down on her luck housekeeper. Her life is a bit in the dumps. I mean when you have to be rescued by a half-human/ half-wolf alien from an assassination attempt while selling your eggs you are having a bit of a bad luck streak. But hey, you’re about to meet Sean Bean and find out your Queen of Earth so things are going to start looking up. Minus the powerful space siblings that want to kill you for your claim.
I’ll start with the not so good: It went on way too long. Really you could have cut out at least one of those siblings. Each run in with the siblings got both progressively longer and over the top. The story had a lot of interesting ideas; immortality, space real estate, genetic reincarnation but it just felt like so much and the ideas themselves were buried under the grandeur of the effects. Jupiter takes itself way more seriously than it should. I’m torn on Eddie Redmayne too- I know a lot of people thought he was over the top but then again he really went for it and I can appreciate that in a villain. Personally I think all the stuff about his constant in your face Oscar campaigning is what really intruded onto the performance for me.
And I think Sean Bean might have been part bee which wasn’t good or bad. Just something that gave us a laugh at dinner.
The good: The movie is really beautiful. The effects, the spaceships, the incredible costuming when Jupiter hits space it felt very complete and whole. Those dresses were costuming fantasy for someone like me who eats that stuff up. I enjoyed the effects at the end too without giving too much away I am very much ready for my own set of gravity defying boots please. I enjoyed Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum though the chemistry wasn’t great. They were more like really good friends or war buddies then romantic relationship. But at least having seen the movie his “elf” ears from the preview that so bugged my friend made more sense.
Jupiter does have some good moments throughout. Yeah, she relies a lot on other people to save her but considering she’s supposed to be so far out of her depth she does a good job of catching up quickly and keeping it together.
Personal bonus (again without giving anything away I hope) I was totally right for once on whether Sean Bean would live or die and the other question of whether he’d be good or a shit so yeah me! Also the young blonde in the preview who I thought for sure would be his girlfriend was his daughter so right on two Sean Bean counts wrong on the third. Yeah me!
Would I recommend? If you like world-building, special effects and big overblown pretty spectacles about a girl who goes from crap life to intergalactic royalty you’d probably like this one. It’s not great. Hell, I can understand some of the bad reviews and maybe my friends and I had such low expectations but bottom line we found it an enjoyable enough way to waste away a Saturday afternoon.
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