The film “Jupiter Ascending” follows Jupiter Jones, played by Mila Kunis, as she discovers who she really is and how valuable she is to Earth. Jupiter grows up in a large and dirt-poor family with the unfortunate job of cleaning toilets for wealthy people. Despite being born under the night sky with signs indicating that she was destined for greatness, Jupiter’s life thus far has been anything but great. However, after encountering messengers sent to kill Jupiter at the doctor’s office and meeting Caine (Channing Tatum), a hunter sent to track her down and who had rescued her from the messengers, Jupiter discovers there is more to her life story than meets the eye. After receiving her rightful title of Queen of the Earth, she is tricked and her family, as well as Jupiter herself, face death. However, when her chances of survival appear bleak, the unexpected happens.
The movie definitely had a good theme behind the story: that your current life doesn’t determine your fate and everyone has the potential for greater things, but this isn’t anything new that has never been portrayed in movies before. The plot overall was a flop in that certain dialogues and scenes could be seen in any other sci-fi fantasy.
The familiar theme and dialogues as seen in the trailer perhaps accounted for the fact that it bombed at the box office: opening at third place with only $18.4 million, which is $10 million less than the other recent big-budget sci-fi movies like “After Earth” and “Ender’s Game,” according to Box Office Mojo.
But the movie tried to be different with unique characters; for example, Caine is apparently a genetically engineered ex-military hunter that has both wolf and human DNA, but most characters were ridiculous and too far of a stretch even for sci-fi. On the contrary, the visuals were definitely appealing with the colors and special effects and despite most of the story taking place in the unreality of another habitable planet, it didn’t appear fake or too overdone. On the grand scale of things, the movie was decent and fun to watch, but I wouldn’t see it again or recommend it to a friend.
