Francis Ford Coppola’sMegalopolisis a movie that seemed destined never to be made, and according toits Rotten Tomatoes scoremany critics believe that is how it should have stayed. The life-work of the iconic director of such timeless movies asThe GodfatherandApocalypse, Now, made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival and immediately divided opinions – as it was always expected to.
Megalopolisis a movie that has already beendescribed as“undefinable”by its star Adam Driverand 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.
Megalopolis
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
As perDiscussing Film, the movie received a 7-minute standing ovation following its premiere. Following this, the movie has seen 29 reviews posted on Rotten Tomatoes since its premiere, leading to a Tomatometer score of 48%. 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 Hutchinsonled 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 Lawsonhad 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
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 toMegalopolis, 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 Fearbelieves thatMegalopolisis 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 Wisebelieves 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.”
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 thatMegalopolisis 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.
Megalopolisfeatures 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.
