'Cloud Atlas' movie review

I have decided to simply not give a fuck of how a terrible movie reviewer I am, but believe me, I am doing my best to review these movies as soon as I can in the world of my stuck-up country (Yes, the movie actually came out yesterday for me). So, with all due respect, here is my review of the highly anticipated epic drama Cloud Atlas, which I have been shaking legs as well for quite some time now, namely after watching the undescribably amazing trailer. The movie is basically a mix of six different stories, spanning from the 19th century to the very distant future. But as we saw in the trailer, the characters are linked through birthmarks and soul and reincarnation and the stories have parallels and connections in them and so on and so on.

But the movie is in average receiving mixed reviews. Some people are calling it one of the best movies of all time and a modern-art masterpiece, and some people are calling it an over-ambitious, over-long mess. We'll get to that later, so let's just take a look at the movie first, like we would with any other. The acting is pretty good, with the actors playing several different roles, my favourite in the movie was probably Jim Broadbent, who is delightful in his present-day story and incredibly despicable in another, (but you're supposed to hate him, so that's good). But overall it's simply tough to look at Cloud Atlas as an another movie, because it tries to be and suceeds at being more then that. The first shot in it, showing our galaxy in a star-filled sky already explains, that this is no ordinary trip to the theater.

I decided to not review this movie after a couple of days of thinking about, and it was worth it. The stories are connected and intertwined in a surprisingly crafty way, making a 3-hour journey through time and space, oftenly shifting stories in a range of 10 seconds, understandable and never boring. Some stories are action-packed, exciting and interesting story-wise, others are beautiful, romantic and funny. The three directors basically each directed 3 of the 6 stories (Lana and Andy Wachowski always work together, so the movie actually has more like 2 directors or 2 director units) and you can see a bit of The Wachowski feel on the futuristic, spectacular ones, but the movie still feels like one, long, connected movie. And even if you don't understand the connections, the actions in one story, that influence the other, you can still simply relax and keep with the batch of the characters, the batch of the story elements, the whole of a very good movie.

All that is backed up by excellent music and visuals. A few scenes in the movie, are as we saw in the trailer, breath-taking and one particular shot, actually quite revolutionary, that you actually wonder "How the fuck did they do that?!", just like people tought when they first saw The Matrix. But overally, I think this is a better film, than The Matrix, because it has heart. And it has lots of heart. Ben Whishaw alone makes his story touching and wonderful, you want to kill Jim Broadbent in one story and just give him a hug in another. Even tough you've seen characters playing different roles, you will be pretty shocked to notice, who was who where. Some make-up didn't go very well (Asian Hugo Weawing), but some makes this a clear Oscar winner for Best Make-up (such honor, right?) I'm also sure, I will buy the soundtrack, which the beautiful Cloud Atlas sextet/march piano piece from the trailer alone made me think. I was only a bit pissed the song 'Outro' by m83 from the trailer, wasn't in the movie. But enough of talking now.

Typing so much of this, I realized, I just cannot sum up all of the greatness. You simply have to see this movie. As we reach our conclusion, I simply say, that you have to see it. No matter, if you will end up loving or hating it, it will be an undesribably mesmerizing cinematic experience. I am not sure, if this will be considered a modern-art masterpiece, but I think it comes pretty close. Even the critics, who gave it bad reviews agreed, that it simply is one of the most ambitous movies ever made, and that you're startled by merely what the movie tries to be (and even more, when it suceeds in some points). So is this movie an overlong, over-ambitious mess. Not at all. Is it one of the greatest movie of all time, that makes you think about the world differently. I don't know, maybe. Is it an inspiring, beautiful, amazing film and one of the best movies of the year? Of course.

Total rating: 9.5 / 10 

So what did you think of the film? Do you think it's a modern-art masterpiece or an over-long mess? Did you feel inspired by it? Comment below, let me know!