Say what you will about the quality of their output over the last decade (and plenty of people have), but the Wachowskis are certainly massively ambitious and technically gifted filmmakers. Unfortunately their flair for visuals far outweighs their ability to write convincing dialogue and craft a solid narrative. While the over-the-top camp of Jupiter Ascending has all the makings of a cult favorite, to the surprise of virtually nobody the movie tanked at the box office and reportedly caused Warner Bros. to lose over $100m on the project. Following the under-performance of Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas and now Jupiter Ascending, it seems unlikely that the Wachowskis will be handed another blockbuster budget anytime soon. As talented as the duo are at world-building and creating unique action sequences, that's still three box office bombs in a row. Jupiter Ascending just about managed to claw back its $176m budget at the global box office, but extensive marketing costs saw the studio fail to recoup any of their investment. But at least Sean Bean didn't die, right?
I don't do social media, so like or follow me in person but please maintain a safe distance or the authorities will be notified. Don't snap me though, I'll probably break. I was once labelled a misogynist on this very site in a twenty paragraph-long rant for daring to speak ill of the Twilight franchise. I stand by what I said, it's crap.
