A mega-million sci-fi epic with many stars playing like an amateur

The author Robert Scucci
| Published 30 seconds ago

Cinematic passion projects often have a number of common lines that are expected as aspiring actors without star power, a budget tighter than a violin string, ready to snap the moment it's under too much pressure. and unfortunately the lack of studio backing that most established filmmakers get after they've proven themselves over time. Francis Ford Coppola's latest outing, $136 million Megalopoliswas a game-changer, proving that a roster full of A-list actors and the seemingly endless financial resources of Coppola's own personal wealth could not save a film that was clearly doomed from the start.

After sitting down and watching the 138-minute dystopian sci-fi epic myself, a new line has been added to my personal master canon of passion projects: an out-of-control ego.

That said, it's not a massive comparison Megalopolis the themes and execution of ego-driven projects led by Tommy Wiseau or Neil Breen, two self-proclaimed auteurs who personally finance their own projects and have very little recourse for their respective unwavering, steadfast, creative visions.

Money talks

To be self-financed Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola sold his Sonoma County wineries to Delicato Family Wines in a staggering $650 million equity deal, earmarking $200 million of the deal to realize the artistic vision he had been trying to fully realize for 40 years. With the accumulated wealth, Coppola was finally prepared to create his passion project without studio interference.

Star Power only works if the scenario makes sense

A high-profile budget includes high-profile talent, and there's no shortage of A-listers. Megalopolis. While it's easy to blame B-movies (or Megalopoliswhat I call a big-budget B-movie) that inexperienced actors were tasked with telling the story became clear to me after watching it. Megalopolis that even Adam Driver unable to escape reciting Shakespeare, puffing as if he were a marionette controlled by a puppet with a photic sneeze reflex who looked directly into the studio lights before Coppola shouted “action”.

A-list cast and plot from DVD

Set in New Rome, an alternate version of New York City, Driver's Cesar Catilina is a brilliant but troubled Nobel Prize-winning architect and chairman of the Design Authority of New Rome, who has an idealistic plan for a utopia known as Megalopolis. He also has the ability to stop and start time at will, which allows him to think about how he will carry out his grand plans under the radar. Caesar's intellectual and metaphysical gifts are hampered by severe alcoholism, which had begun to flare up years earlier when his wife mysteriously disappeared and he was unsuccessfully tried for her murder.

Caesar's idealistic opportunism is accompanied and opposed by the conservative mayor of New Rome, Franklin Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), his directionless but opportunistic cousin Claudio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf), his extremely wealthy uncle Hamilton Crass III (Jon Voight), and his now-ex-lover, a television personality named Wow Platinum (Aubrey Square).

When Caesar suddenly and inexplicably loses his gift of time manipulation, he becomes romantically involved with Julia Cicero, Franklin's daughter, after realizing that her muse-like presence restores his artistic and time manipulation abilities, much to her father's dismay.

Bones without meat

General plot line to Megalopolis builds to a compelling futuristic melodrama, but it all starts to fall apart when each sliding piece of the puzzle fails to connect. While there is no shortage of extravagant stylistic choices on Coppola's part to make postmodern America resemble the collapse of the Roman Empire, which was at its height of opulence and disorder before reaching a tipping point and collapsing completely, style alone cannot tell the story. no matter how beautiful it is to look at.

Instead Megalopolis turns these cinematic bones into mush for the viewer to try to digest as they are assaulted by vibrantly colored, deceptively Vestal Virgins, sprawling cityscapes, a proletariat in a constant state of civil and economic unrest, and Jon Voight. pretending to have a crossbow buried under his bed sheet is actually an erection to carry out a revenge plan against his nephew Claudio, who is conspiring with Wow Platinum to take over his bank.

Movie show

Megalopolis the god-like, time-manipulating, idealistic yet psychologically unraveling protagonist represents the same character archetypes you'd see in Neil Breen films such as Double Down, I'm here… Now, go throughand The fatal discoveriesto name a few. And I assure you, the irony is not lost on me that Neil Breen was able to personally fund his projects by leveraging funds and his personal wealth that he had built up during a successful career in architecture.

In my opinion, Coppola's fearless creation Megalopolis deserves considerable credit because he had a vision, stuck to his guns and did thing the way he wanted to do it. The jury may be out on whether the particular case is worth your time, but if you have a penchant for B, C, D, and Z movies, you need to show how even the most accomplished filmmakers can swing. and miss without anyone challenging their vision.

As of this writing, you can watch Megalopolis on demand through Amazon Prime Video, Google Playand Fandango at home.