I remember the extended 7 minute trailer for this movie dropping in 2012 and being very excited to watch this movie, only to let the negative reviews (and daunting 3 hr. runtime) sorta push me away from it. Then, years later I found it for cheap on Blu-Ray and bought it as a commitment to one day watch it. I’ve been hyping it up for myself for years, and I finally watched it. And you know what? It fucking rips.Every criticism of the yellowface is absolutely correct! And super hard to watch, especially in a movie whose ideas are so... antithetical to it. It’s but one of various things that make this such a messy movie, even though I absolutely get what they were going for. And despite seeing that as a deep failing, I just feel the ambition and spirit of this thing so fucking much. I am currently very weak-hearted and in my feelings so the theme of fate and interconnectedness really worked on me, and as a multi-generational story of slavery and rebellion (along lines of race, sexuality, corporate power, age, gender, and class respectively) I really think it does something I’ve never even seen another film attempt. Even though, again, there’s a lotta mess in here.The main theme of the movie is gorgeous! And never has a credits sequence been so crucial as when you get a look at every character each actor played. Just twist after twist after twist, several little Gene Parmesan moments in a row. Made me wanna read the book and figure out what the hell they’re adapting, if only I weren’t engaged in a 28-year long protest against the written word. The Wachowski Sisters are the most ambitious and visionary filmmakers working today and they should get a tax-free grant of $100 million every two years to make literally whatever their hearts desire.Also, Tom Hanks says the N-word. Twice! Name another filmmaker that got America’s sweetheart to say the N word twice in a panned film and still exalt the whole thing as a crucial piece of his filmography. Who you know fresher than Lana & Lilly, riddle me that!!
"What is an ocean, but a multitude of drops?" - Adam EwingI think the only sensible way to review this film is by each of it's inter-twining stories. In chronological order, of course:PHASE ONETime and setting: South Pacific Ocean, 1849Genre: Sea-faring adventure/period dramaProtagonist: Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess)Well, I suppose a good place to start is the worst place to start, because things can only get better. Although the events of this section are meant to be small and cramped to show the gravity of the events that are to follow, this doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the story. The other stories have a bigger scope, while nothing much happens in this one. What we have is Tom Hanks over-acting through false-teeth and Jim Sturgess whimpering and sweating on a boat, with little development of either character. It's not a bad section, but it's by far the worst of the sextet.VERDICT: 6/10PHASE TWOTime and setting: Edinburgh, 1936Genre: Period musical dramaProtagonist: Robert Frobisher (Ben Wishaw)Now, this is better. Here, we have a tender, beautiful struggle against oppression from all areas from Ben Wishaw (wonderful as a gay composer), while he's greatly antagonised by a rather despicable Jim Broadbent. It's use of visuals is stunning, with the highlight being a series of china ornaments smashing in slow-motion. It tugs at the heartstrings too; even though you know the fate of the protagonist from the very beginning of the film, the build-up is really quite tragic.VERDICT: 8/10PHASE THREETime and setting: San Francisco, 1973Genre: Conspiracy thrillerProtagonist: Luisa Rey (Halle Berry)In a word: thrilling. Cloud Atlas takes a sharp turn for the tense in this chapter, where Halle Berry is an investigative journalist who is involved in a nuclear plant conspiracy when a chance meeting with James D'Arcy leaves her digging too deep. Climaxing with a brilliant foot-chase through the streets of San Francisco and a fruit-packing factory, Hugo Weaving is truly sinister as the hitman attempting to knock off our protagonists. Cloud Atlas' action sequences only get better than this in one other instance.VERDICT: 9/10PHASE FOURTime and setting: London/Scotland, 2012Genre: Gentle comedyProtagonist: Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent)A bizarre mix of geriatric comedy and tender escapism story. This is genuinely funny, mostly due to Jim Broadbent's excellent comic timing and Hugo Weaving as a Nurse Ratched-alike character. It's a lot of fun; fluff compared to the next two chapters, but harmless and highly entertaining.VERDICT: 9/10PHASE FIVETime and setting: Neo Seoul, 2144Genre: Sci-fi action thrillerProtagonist: Sonmi 451 (Doona Bae)Incredible. This is some of the best sci-fi in years. Neo Seoul is a staggeringly amazing creation, and the action sequences honestly rival The Matrix. The Wachowski Siblings' flare for intelligent, wonderfully drawn sci-fi shines here, and Doona Bae is magnificent as the revolutionary 'fabricant'. Frank Griebe's and John Toll's knack for employing cinematography in blockbusters to evoke a 'wow' reaction in the audience is at its height in this chapter. My favourite section of the film by far.VERDICT: 10/10PHASE SIXTime and setting: The Big Island, 106 years after The FallGenre: Post-apocalyptic adventureProtagonist: Zachry (Tom Hanks)This is as brilliant as it is flawed. The setting is immersive, and Hugo Weaving's Devil-like creation, Old Georgie, is inspired, but the main problem here is the dialogue. There is a Clockwork Orange-style futuristic broken dialect that is mostly muttered, and when this is the final chapter where everything is miraculously brought together, it really makes it hard to comprehend what is happening when lines like "That's just a rope o'smoke. Old Uns got the Smart. They mastered sick and seeds, they make miracles and fly across the sky" are thrown around left, right and centre. May require subtitles for a re-watch and full appreciation. Brilliant CGI and gory action is the main attraction here though.VERDICT: 8/10And it all comes together. Had these been separate short films, then this would not nearly be as good. But as one complete, complex, narratively-fractured tale, it's an unbeatable, five-star experience. The real marvel here is the fact that there are fully-drawn and developed characters galore here, despite the fact that the fragmented narrative and piece-meal storytelling might risk characters being two-dimensional and dull. But this is avoided, thanks to David Mitchell's stunning source material.Rarely has three hours felt like 90 minutes. Rarely has a film completely knocked me out. Baffled me. Took me for a ride round time and space and then slammed me back to Earth with a thud. I loved it. More people should see this. Probably one of the best films I've ever seen.
