Drone Age Cinema by Christiansen Steen Ledet

Author:Christiansen, Steen Ledet
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786720764
Publisher: I.B. Tauris
Published: 2017-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

Smooth Movements: Jupiter Ascending

Not all films that articulate volatility are as relentless in their audiovisual expression as Neveldine/Taylor’s films. Films such as Wanted (Timur Bekmambetov 2008), Max Payne (John Moore 2008) and Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie 2009) slow down time to a crawl through superslow sequences, while superhero films like The Incredible Hulk (Louis Leterrier 2008) and The Amazing Spider-Man (Marc Webb 2012) show radical physical comportments, all aimed at astonishing us and impacting our bodies in ways that go beyond our physical capacity for movement. The Wachowskis’ Jupiter Ascending (2015) is a recent addition to these films and employs stunning sequences of volatility.

In this film, the bodily mastery of traditional action films merges with that of a post-cinematic body generated by computer-generated images. Unlike the hypermediated images of Crank: High Voltage, where the volatility comes from the disparity of individual elements and the choppy nature of different images and visual perspectives jumbled together, Jupiter Ascending has the feeling of flow. With emphasis placed squarely on digital imaging, the sound-images achieve a smoothness that is almost the exact opposite of Crank: High Voltage and several of the other films I have discussed so far. Yet the intensity of these computer-generated sequences is such that they push a state of volatility on us.

Jupiter Ascending tells the story of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who grows up an illegal Russian immigrant in Chicago but comes to learn that she is in fact heiress to the Abrasax galactic dynasty through genetic rebirth. Hunted by the agents of Balem (Eddie Redmayne), Jupiter is saved by Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), although she is still brought to a distant planet. Here, Balem’s brother Titus (Douglas Booth) tricks Jupiter into marrying him in order to wrest the inheritance of planet Earth from Balem. He almost succeeds, but Caine shows up in the nick of time to prevent the wedding. At the same time, Balem has captured Jupiter’s family in his refinery on planet Jupiter and demands she sign Earth over to him in exchange for her family’s safety. Balem would then be able to harvest Earth for the youth serum that they all crave. Jupiter refuses, defeats Balem, and is rescued off the planet by Caine. Jupiter happily returns to her cleaning job.

It should be noted that the planet Jupiter in the film is closer to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars in his A Princess of Mars and similar early pulp space operas than the actual planet Jupiter. While planet Jupiter remains a gas giant, there are also structures on it and a somewhat amicable atmosphere. Similarly, warp drives enable people to travel at the blink of an eye, and Caine manages to survive in space for several minutes simply by holding his breath. The film makes no concessions to any form of realism but is an unapologetic space opera, interested only in unique vistas, the vastness of space and exotic species and fashions. In much the same way, the film employs a variety of unusual spatials and impressive kinetic battle scenes between starships.

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