Things are probably not looking that good for the Wachowskis

Jan 29, 2015 15:50 GMT  ·  By
Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum star in the big-budget “Jupiter Ascending,” from the Wachowski siblings
   Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum star in the big-budget “Jupiter Ascending,” from the Wachowski siblings

Talk about (potential) bad news: the Wachowski siblings’ latest film, “Jupiter Ascending,” starring Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Eddie Redmayne and Sean Bean, which opens in theaters on February 6, had a special, surprise screening at Sundance in Park City, Utah, on Sunday – and things didn’t exactly go as planned.

For the record, “Jupiter Ascending” was initially scheduled for release in the summer of 2014 but was pushed back because post-production work on it wasn’t done yet. Its new release date was the first sign of trouble, because January and the first half of February are considered “cinema’s graveyard,” where bad movies and once-potentially good ones go to die.

Surprise screening at Sundance

The Sundance Film Festival is one of the biggest indie events, where quality work is screened, awarded and hopefully picked up for domestic and international release.

By all means, “Jupiter Ascending” had no place to be there, but maybe Warner Bros. wanted to test its newest project on a wider audience. After all, they did spend an estimated $175 million (€154.1 million) on it, so they probably wanted to get an idea of the kind of reaction they should expect.

Let’s hope that reaction at Sundance won’t be representative for wide response to the film, because Variety says that patrons walked out mid-screening, clearly unhappy with what they were seeing on-screen.

Those who did stay failed to applaud at the end of the screening, even though crowds in Sundance are known to do that even for productions that don’t deserve it, because they’re excessively polite like that.

The same trade publication notes that many seats in the venue were empty, but that’s explainable by the fact that Warners didn’t announce what they would be screening, let alone that they would be premiering “Jupiter.”

Several bad things into one

This is how one male moviegoer described the film to Variety, while his female companion was more direct in saying, “I hated it.” Apparently, the movie made no sense and offered very little for the viewer to engage in.

However, Neville Kiser, a screenwriter, enjoyed it, explaining the negative reaction on the fact that it was screened at Sundance. “There were so many people in the audience scoffing and sneering. They are forgetting they are watching a movie targeted primarily to teenage boys. I’m sure those 15-year-old boys, and hopefully girls, will like it,” he says.

The curious part is that, from the marketing campaign so far, it didn’t seem like “Jupiter” was meant for 15-year-old boys. On the contrary, trailers and interviews made it seem like it was meant for an older audience – and definitely not necessarily male.

Embedded below is the newest extended trailer for the film, “Jupiter Reign.” The Wachowskis’ visual style is spectacular as always, so, yes, if this movie flops, it will be the most beautiful-looking flop in recent years.