JUPITER ASCENDING (Rated PG-13)
A friend of mine reported that of the eight or nine coming attractions showing recently at his local cinema all except one had something to do with fantasy adventure and science-fiction.
Admittedly, my friend tends to exaggerate but then both “Jupiter Ascending” and “Seventh Son,” originating in the otherworldly context, are released on the same day, and so he may have a valid point.
Lana and Andy Wachowski, the filmmaker siblings behind the “Matrix” trilogy and “Cloud Atlas,” have an affinity for inviting audiences into uncharted territory and fantastic new worlds, the basic stuff of science-fiction.
At times their magic touch for fantasy adventure works, particularly with the first “Matrix,” and then there is the complete bore that was “Cloud Atlas.” With their latest effort in “Jupiter Ascending,” the Wachowskis may have hit upon the middle ground.
The trouble with “Jupiter Ascending” is not that the lovely Mila Kunis is the central figure in a space odyssey which requires her character to bridge the gap between the working class of the Midwest and the royalty of the intergalactic universe.
A Russian immigrant toiling in menial jobs with her extended family, Jupiter Jones (Kunis) dreams of better things, but the cold reality is that she’s cleaning other people’s toilets and suffers an endless run of bad breaks.
Along comes the hunky Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), who looks fully human except for his Spock-like pointy ears.
He’s a bounty hunter from outer space assigned to track down Jupiter because her genetic signature marks her as next in line for a royal title in the House of Abrasax.
Granted, it’s a real leap of faith to think that the ordinary Jupiter Jones has royal blood, but that news is far more disturbing to the three primary heirs of the Abrasax dynasty following the death of the royal matriarch.
At this point, the problem for “Jupiter Ascending” is the somewhat convoluted story of the squabbling within the royal empire, where three siblings vie for total control of their dominion in a manner reminiscent of Shakespearean drama, which inevitably recalls visions of “King Lear.”
On a distant planet, it is the death of the queen that triggers a battle for succession, which is complicated by the sudden presence of Jupiter, who has the same genetic makeup of the late monarch, a fact which would elevate the Chicago maid to queen of the universe.
Palace intrigue ensues. The oldest of the royal siblings is the treacherous Balem (Eddie Redmayne), a person so tightly wound that he speaks in an oddly controlled, ominous whisper until those moments when he bursts into uncontrolled rage.
Balem is a mercenary whose only interest, as the current head of Abrasax Industries, is to savor the expansion of wealth and power by looting the Earth of all its precious resources, including the harvesting of humans.
The sister Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), an ethereal beauty, prefers to advise and befriend the newfound member of the royal family, but she is no less devious than the rest of the clan as she is reluctant to reveal her hand.
Titus (Douglas Booth), the youngest brother, gives the impression of a charming and spoiled playboy with an admittedly cavalier relationship to the truth, but his devotion to his hedonistic pursuits belies a fierce ambition every bit as calculating as Balem’s.
To be sure, Jupiter, though faithfully assisted by Caine, is a mere innocent in this pit of venomous snakes. The amusing scene is when Jupiter is put through the bureaucratic maze of validating her royal position by obtaining the necessary paperwork.
Never before has dealing with red tape looked as inept, complicated and inefficient as here. Jupiter’s shuffling back and forth to obscure government agencies is akin to the nightmare of having to deal with the DMV, IRS, Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security all at the same time.
Just in case you were wondering, aerial battle scenes are plentiful and exciting, with a generous helping of explosions. With Jupiter in his arms, Caine zips through the Chicago skies on his jet-propelled boots, and while this happening the aliens destroy most of the skyscraper landscape.
The action moves at the quick pace that may prove satisfying for most fans of the genre. Even the reliable Sean Bean gets into the act as tough-guy bounty hunter Stringer who’s been exiled to a ramshackle Midwestern farm in the middle of nowhere.
With the Warchowski pedigree firmly in place and the attention generated by an original work steeped in the genre elements of science-fiction, “Jupiter Ascending” may very well rise to the top, and not without good reason considering there’s just enough action excitement to keep the convoluted business interesting.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
