Summary
-
Megalopolis
ignited controversy at Cannes, with critics divided on Coppola’s visionary work. Love it or hate it, the film makes a statement. - The star-studded
Megalopolis
has been described as both an “insufferable mess” and a “beautiful nightmare.” Prepare for a polarizing experience. - Despite mixed reviews, Coppola’s
Megalopolis
is praised for its uncompromising vision and the ability to inspire artists and audiences alike.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is a movie that seemed destined never to be made, and according to its Rotten Tomatoes score many critics believe that is how it should have stayed. The life-work of the iconic director of such timeless movies as The Godfather and Apocalypse, Now, made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival and immediately divided opinions – as it was always expected to.
Megalopolis is a movie that has already been described as “undefinable” by its star Adam Driver and a “beautiful nightmare” by Aubrey Plaza, while those who have witnessed the 138-minute movie first hand have resorted to other words to describe it, such as “an insufferable mess” and “the crazy work of an ambitious mad man.” This instantly implies that the film is going to either be a massive success when it arrives in cinemas, or a box office bomb that will come to be regarded as an amazing piece of filmmaking in years to come.
As per Discussing Film, the movie reportedly received a 7-minute standing ovation following its premiere, but this was underscored by some boos from the audience. Following this, the movie has seen 11 reviews posted on Rotten Tomatoes since its premiere, leading to a debut Tomatometer score of 45%. Clearly a love it or hate it offering from Coppola, there is little to suggest that the film will fare any differently when audience reviews follow in due course. Some have called it “boring,” and others have proclaimed it to be “anything but boring.” Yes, it appears to be that kind of movie.
Collider’s Chase Hutchinson led the “rotten reviews,” commenting, “Much like the city being built in the film, it’s all more interesting in theory than it ever is in actuality. Now that we will all have the chance to take it in for ourselves, the greatest revelation is that there just isn’t that much to see.”
Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson had a more damning verdict, calling it the “junkiest of junk-drawer movies,” which was a “slapped together hash of Coppola’s many disparate inspirations.” As a movie that has taken five decades to make, a mish-mash of decades, decadence and “datedness” is perhaps something that is to be expected in a way.
Megalopolis Has Wowed Some Cannes Critics
Vanity Fair
Although the lowly score is not an inspiring sight for any filmmaker, Coppola has been in the industry long enough to not let things like that bother him too much. When it comes to Megalopolis, the passion project’s effortless ability to turn some critics off is not going to change that in any way. However, it is not all bad news, as there have been some critics who seem to understand Coppola’s movie more than others.
Rolling Stone’s David Fear believes that Megalopolis is the movie that Coppola really wanted it to be in every way possible. “It is exactly the movie that Coppola set out to make — uncompromising, uniquely intellectual, unabashedly romantic, broadly satirical yet remarkably sincere about wanting not just brave new worlds but better ones.”
Meanwhile, Deadline’s Damon Wise believes that “Coppola breaks many of the cardinal rules of filmmaking in the film’s 138 minutes but it upholds the most important one: it is never, ever boring, and it will inspire just as many artists as the audiences it will alienate.”
Related Megalopolis Went Through 50 Years of Failure Before Becoming the Most Important Movie of 2024 Megalopolis has been a longtime passion project of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola. A very, very long time.
One thing that has become very quickly clear is that Megalopolis is a movie that is not going to fade away without being talked about a lot by many people. While some of the opinions will be completely negative, others will argue about the artistic values and deeper meaning of Coppola’s work. The long debate begins right here.
Megalopolis features an unparalleled ensemble cast including Driver, Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman, and D. B. Sweeney.
Megalopolis
will be released in cinemas later in 2024.
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