It's not perfect and the critics panned it. Yes, the worldbuilding is a weird mishmash of several different tropes. The hero is part werewolf, used to have wings, and flies around in gravity-surfing boots (aka he rollerblades across the sky and it's awesome). He has pointy ears and he doesn't talk a lot.
But I don't care. He's still fantastic. And no, it's not just because Caine's played by Channing Tatum. To be honest, I couldn't recall anything else I've seen him in (I didn't see Magic Mike).
It could use some editing. I would have trimmed down some of the story at the beginning (spoiler warning: there is a death at the beginning of the movie that greatly affects Jupiter's life) and lightened it up some. I had to replay a couple of the early scenes to make sure I understood what was going on (plus the kids were in and out on their way to the pool, which made it hard to concentrate). The first 10-15 mins are definitely slow. But if you can make it past that, the rest of the movie held my attention glued to the TV, and I immediately watched it again.
Even better: I watched it again last night with Littlest (who'll be twelve this week) and she LOVED it. Watching it with her was priceless. Every time Caine rescued Jupiter, or tugged her behind him to protect her, Littlest squealed with delight. He was so protective, without ever diminishing Jupiter in any way. Granted at the beginning she didn't know what the hell was going on, and she needed some direction. But all too quickly, she's dealing with several-thousand-year-old vindictively powerful family she never knew and in the end...
SHE'S the one who saves Earth.
I want more fun and crazy movies like this, with a strong romance thread! An everyday heroine who takes charge and in the end saves the day! A sexy, strong hero who rescues the heroine--but also lets her stand on her own and supports her without getting his manly panties in a twist.
Me being a romance hound, I could have used even more relationship elements, but it was still really good, made me laugh, made me smile, and yes, swoon a little when Caine gets his wings back.
Have you seen Jupiter Ascending, or have a similar movie to recommend?
I want more fun and crazy movies like this, with a strong romance thread! An everyday heroine who takes charge and in the end saves the day! A sexy, strong hero who rescues the heroine--but also lets her stand on her own and supports her without getting his manly panties in a twist.
Me being a romance hound, I could have used even more relationship elements, but it was still really good, made me laugh, made me smile, and yes, swoon a little when Caine gets his wings back.
Have you seen Jupiter Ascending, or have a similar movie to recommend?
I enjoyed parts of it, as you've said. I enjoyed the Making Of... featurettes on the dvd but I kept thinking they were doing a lot of patting themselves on the back for 'coming up with stuff' that's been around a long time in scifi and SFR. My guys have been using antigrav boots for years in my SFR novels (altho the way this character flies was way cooler than mine, I will admit!) I'd love to have more movies like this though, for sure!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, antigrav boots aren't new by any means. But Caine sure looked good skating across the sky. :-)
DeleteI actually finally just watched this movie this past weekend myself, and both my wife and I found it way more coherent than we'd been expecting. I actually rather liked it and am thinking about whether I want to go ahead and buy my own copy for my library. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely buying a copy and ranking it near Pitch Black as some of my favorites.
DeleteI just watched it also, and loved! Many hearts up!
ReplyDelete