What makes Cloud Atlas different from other films is that it tells six seemingly unrelated stories over different times that ultimately tie together into one. We have Edinburgh in the First World War, a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by tribes and Seoul in a high-tech neon future thrown into the mix. Or in other words; Shaft, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Fifth Element, a desert lacking version of Mad Max and other ripped off movies.
I will admit that I liked Cloud Atlas. The sets and visual effects were well done - especially in futuristic Neo Seoul. Yet altogether it did not quite work.The point of the film was simple; we are all connected, both to the people who came before us and those who will come after us. What happens to those people and what happens to us is affected by decisions made in the past and ones yet to come. The only problem is the film didn’t need to spend more than two and a half hours explaining this when the concept became clear within the first half hour. Also some of the stories, while linked, are so loosely connected that they ultimately feel like pointless padding.
The constant lurching between different plots also makes it difficult for any character development. There were some good set-ups early on, like the nuclear power threat or a mysterious key one of the characters carries with him as all times. But these never mounted to anything. These could have easily been taken much further and tied the stories closer together.
When it was released a lot of critics praised Cloud Atlas for being a brave piece of film making, others went as far to say that it would redefine cinema. Brave, yes. Defining, no. The cast and crew did well weaving six completely different genres of story together but the film failed to deliver any ideas I’ve not heard or seen before. Just because you stitched six movies together into one does not mean it’s a masterpiece. The same effect can be achieved by channel hopping to random programmes on my TV.
No comments:
Post a Comment