Release date: July 25th 2012's Cloud Atlas, co-directed with Tom Tykwer, was something of a return to form for The Matrix's Andy and Lana Wachowski. Sprawling, messy and full of not quite realistic make-up and prosthetics, Cloud Atlas was nevertheless a film of hugely impressive ambition, ideas and great design. Jupiter Ascending, a space opera Snow White, promises to combine the imaginative future dystopia of Cloud Atlas' Seoul sequences with the ordinary-drone-turned-chosen-one plot of The Matrix. That ordinary nobody in this case is Mila Kunis, an actress better known for comedic roles like Ted or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but someone with rather more charisma than Keanu Reeves. The Ukrainian actress plays Russian janitor Jupiter Jones. Born under auspicious stars, Jupiter possesses the exact genetic makeup as the Queen of the Universe and, therefore, poses a threat to her rule with a genetically engineered hunter, part-albino human, part-wolf (Channing Tatum) sent to kill her. Sean Bean, meanwhile, appears as a "Han Solo type". What are the odds he makes it to the end of the movie alive this time? If that plot seems more fairy tale than serious world building, well that's something that never did Star Wars any harm. The trailer shows an impressive sense of design and visuals and there has been much talk of bringing the same cutting edge mix of digital effects and practical stunt work that made the first Matrix work so much better than its almost entirely CGI successors. Even Speed Racer showed the Wachowskis can direct good looking action. Jupiter Ascending will probably prove a little out-there and even a bit silly to become a Matrix level hit, but even so could well provide the Wachowskis with their biggest success in a decade.
