Cloud Atlas

I must admit that I went to see Cloud Atlas expecting to like it, the trailer for the movie showed an expansive, epic, tale spanning multiple generations of human life about how the smallest drop of change can ripple across time affecting the world in ways nobody could ever predict.  The movie that accompanies it delivered exactly what the trailer promised, however I would still consider it a failure, at least partially.

I will admit, I have never read the book of Cloud Atlas and while that may affect my opinion of the movie, I think its effect is a good one because a movie should be judged on its own merits rather than how well it relates to another piece of media.  I will soon write an article on the different expectations of those who have and haven't read a book when watching a movie based on said book, but for now I will say that Cloud Atlas feels like it was made for the people who read the book and not for the ones who didn't.

Don't get me wrong, when Cloud Atlas gets things right, they're amazing.  The cinematography is top notch, with breathtaking special effects.  Fantastic actors portray their characters incredibly well, and considering each actor played upwards of six separate characters, they did an amazing job.  The action scenes are what we would expect from the makers of The Matrix but at the same time they are downplayed because the overarching plot was far more important.

The biggest mistake the filmmakers made (The Wachowski Siblings, for those interested) was ambition.  Cloud Atlas wants to be too many things, and the story it has to tell is far too great for even its' three-hour run time. The reincarnation of lovers spanning six separate lives and twelve separate major characters, not to mention countless important secondary characters with each generation having a singular plot, was a tale that should never have been made into one movie.  This would have done much better as a mini-series with six parts, each part dedicated to one generation because, as it stands, each separate story is only given about thirty minutes.  The stories also vary so much in tone, from goofy and lighthearted, to downright shocking and disturbing, while still playing on the same themes.  The movie has a schizophrenic feeling, as if it can't decide whether it wants to be a thriller, a black comedy, a contemplative drama, a mystery, a spiritual science fantasy, or a work of historical fiction.

Cloud Atlas truly is six, very different, movies in one.  It wants to portray the whole of film making and say "this is human drama, love transcends time" but when it changes so quickly from one story to another, particularly in the big finale, your emotions are pulled in every direction: a scene of humor, then a disturbing revelation, then a fight with the devil, and a melancholic suicide.  Not to mention, each character is given so little screen time that only a few of them have any depth at all, the rest are just one-dimensional epic saviors of humanity.  It's so sad as well because the premise has so much promise (say that ten times fast) and unfortunately it was squandered on a beautiful, if ultimately forgettable, experience.

Cloud Atlas

7.5/10

******UPDATE******

After seeing Cloud Atlas a second time, the movie made quite a bit more sense, as did the pace, everything felt right going in the second time and I was able to appreciate the movie more.  Go see Cloud Atlas, but see it twice!!

Updated Verdict,
Cloud Atlas
9.5/10