Megalopolis represents a rare kind of event movie that reinvents the possibilities of cinema to the extent that, halfway through, there’s a very audacious gimmick that tears down the fourth wall in ways younger filmmakers can only dream of. 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.
From Daily Telegraph: “Coppola’s latest is like Succession crossed with Batman Forever and a lava lamp"
Regardless of whether one will like the film or not, many of the bad reviews I have read so far reveal this: films which do not correspond to box office expectations or marketing hype now get snide remarks by reviewers.
THE SURFER
And here’s the first reaction to the flick:
And since we’ve all been more or less preaching to the choir for some time - let’s have some more of it, shall we?
But these are selective narratives of triumph and downfall: the bigger picture of Hollywood product is still a cautious, homogeneous one. Sandwiched between Barbie and Oppenheimer on last year’s list of box office champions was Universal’s thoroughly generic, IP-dependent videogame adaptation The Super Mario Bros. Movie . The top 10 also included superhero outings Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse , plus Disney’s self-plundering The Little Mermaid remake and umpteenth instalments in the Mission: Impossible and Fast & Furious action franchises.
I want the see that movie.
And, by the way, THAT is Bond candidate Julian McMahon, offering Cage water!
I prefer this review to the very mean bashing of THR…
It’s interesting to read these reviews. It might very well be that my initial reaction will also be irritation due to the unconventional structure.
But it becomes very clear that Costner, having a bad relationship with the press since he won the Oscars many reviewers wanted to see Scorsese get, is being criticized for two reasons: 1. he was on the mightily successful „Yellowstone“, therefore his multipart saga is TOO MUCH like television, and 2. because he still gets the blame for „Yellowstone“ not being finished as planned - although he now stated that he made himself available and was kept waiting for months because the scripts weren’t ready.
Also, like „Megalopolis“, movies which do not tell their story in a way it is expected, namely in a typical blockbuster structure, are now criticized due to their probably limited box office appeal.
Why?
Reviewers should look at what’s there and even be happy that not everything is mixed like the usual happy meal.
So very true. Critics complain about by-the-numbers cookie cutter blockbusters and then complain when a film steps outside of that same narrow cookie cutter format.
Exactly. Critics complain that they want to be challenged, and then when an artist does so, they complain about the challenge.
…to boldly announce what you keep failing to deliver on?
I really don’t understand why first contact is the topic of that. Or maybe they don’t know that there already is a movie called „First Contact“.
No, to boldly go where others have not gone before.
