JUPITER ASCENDING : NEW EPIC BLOCKBUSTER FROM WACHOWSKI

'SECRET SCREENING' DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS

It should be no great surprise to see the considerable number of column inches devoted to the latest cinematic creation of sibling directorial duo Lana and Andy Wachowski, otherwise known as the Wachowskis. After all, these two have quite the history as directors, screenwriters and producers, particularly for The Matrix. However, much of the talk surrounding their next epic - Jupiter Ascending - seems to have been decidedly negative.

Given the praise that has already been forthcoming from critics as the film is released in North America today (February 6), that certainly is a surprise... at least, if you aren't aware of the back-story. You see, in a unusual move for a movie bidding to be a Hollywood blockbuster, Jupiter Ascending - which boasts such acting talents as Mila Kunas, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean and Eddie Redmayne - was pulled from its initially intended mid-July release date and moved to early this year.

That decision was always going to get the rumor blogs chattering about whether the film would be a monumental flop - whether artistically or in the context of its $175 million budget. Such a sum naturally suggests that Jupiter Ascending really does need to be a success for Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc., although there is some hope for optimism.

THE INGREDIENTS SEEM RIGHT... IN THEORY

Looking at the plot and list of personnel, Jupiter Ascending might seem to have a good chance of success, even with such unhelpful speculation going on in the background. It sees Kunis play a down-onher-luck janitor called Jupiter Jones, who is told that her destiny extends beyond Earth by interplanetary warrior Caine Wise (Tatum). Sure enough, the night sky under which Jones was born pointed to an auspicious future.

As a grown-up, however, Jones instead seems to encounter one bad break after another, her dreams punctuated by the cold reality of having to clean other people's houses. But her genetic signature has already marked her out as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance, capable of changing the very balance of the cosmos. It's why she is tracked down on Earth by Wise, a geneticallyengineered ex-military hunter who finally gives her a glimpse of her true fate.

So, the story appears to be a promising one. Add in such other longtime Wachowski collaborators as Grant Hill as co-producer, production designer Hugh Bateup, visual effects masters Dan Glass and John Gaeta, supervising sound editor Dane Davis and costume designer Kym Barrett, and it would appear that we have a flick to tear up the box office. What could possibly go wrong?

'MAKE OR BREAK' FOR THE WACHOWSKIS

On paper, the Wachowskis have everything going for them as a creative pairing. The siblings not only worked on the immortal The Matrix trilogy, enjoying great commercial success, but also wrote and produced the 2006 film V for Vendetta, which was adapted from Alan Moore's comic of the same name. To this day, the latter film remains a widely seized-upon allegory of government oppression, the iconic Guy Fawkes mask being worn by libertarians and anarchists in protests against official tyranny.

Subsequent works by the Wachowskis have included 2008's Speed Racer, a sports action film that was a live action adaptation of the Japanese anime series of the same name. Then came Cloud Atlas, a 2012 science fiction film - based on the 2004 David Mitchell novel - that garnered several nominations at the Saturn Awards, emerging victorious in the Best Editing and Best Make-up categories.

On account of The Matrix alone, the Wachowski siblings deserve to be hailed as geniuses. However, it hasn't always been trouble-free in paradise in recent years. Indeed, they're the ones who have the most to lose if the commercial performance of the film does disappoint. Jupiter Ascending is their first pure original film since The Matrix just under 16 years ago, and while its sequels raked in the money, fans didn't enthuse very much about them.

Furthermore, despite Speed Racer's cult classic status, it could only muster an $85 million global return on a $120 million budget, while Cloud Atlas generated a mere $130 million from expenditure of $100 million. It means that if Jupiter Ascending fails to upset the downbeat forecasts, Lana and Andy may struggle in future to fund too many more of their supreme flights of cinematic fancy - which would leave the big screen as a whole a much less interesting place to be.

A SURPRISE DEBUT AT SUNDANCE

You wouldn't expect the Sundance Film Festival to be where the latest studio blockbuster debuts, so it was curious to hear that this was where Jupiter Ascending was first showcased to a wider audience. News of the invitation-only "secret screening'"- which was not billed as a premiere – was only broken by Variety on the afternoon beforehand, with ticket-wielding attendees being handed 3D glasses on arrival at the Egyptian Theater in Park City.

That was a clue that the film that they were about to see wasn't just another Sundance indie, and for their time and trouble, they were treated to plenty of the customary Wachowski cinematic flair, the movie's universe having drawn parallels with Star Wars and the duo's own most famous film trilogy.

But there wasn't universal approval of the new flick, with clusters of seats in the 300-person venue remaining unoccupied and several patrons walking out before the more than two-hour-long space epic had concluded. Nor was there any clapping as the end credits rolled, which is unusual for a Sundance audience.

Perhaps the choice of venue accustomed to more highbrow films didn't help the movie's chances of a warm reception, as suggested by screenwriter Neville Kiser, who commented: "I actually liked it. But the Sundance context is weird. There were so many people in the audience scoffing and sneering. They are forgetting that they are watching a movie targeted primarily to teenage boys. I'm sure those 15-year-old boys, and hopefully girls, will like it."

But there can be no doubt of the mixed reactions. One festival volunteer pronounced: "I hated it. It's just ridiculous." There was a more generous verdict from her husband, however, who mused: "It's a combination of a whole bunch of things wrapped into one."

SLIGHTLY WARMER WORDS FROM THE CRITICS

Critics were not among the invitees to that screening, even those who had managed to grab a ticket being reminded that their reviews were embargoed until the following Monday night. But when they did get to put their points across in print and online, there were some positive noises, such as from Vulture's Abraham Riesman, who suggested that the film "looks fun and accessible", adding of the pitch: "Sure, it's a little out there, but far less so than past Wachowski outings like Cloud Atlas or The Matrix."

There were also some warm words for the movie from Forbes contributor Scott Mendelson, who in a review entitled Jupiter Ascending Is A Beautiful Muddle, described it as "a visual wonder and a big-screen delight", although he also noted that "it suffers from overly complicated storytelling in service of thin characters and redundant action sequences."

IGN writer Max Nicholson was typical among the others to give qualified praise, as he called the movie "an impressive, if clunky, entry in the Wachowski siblings' eclectic filmography. Combining elements of science, mythology and 1950s pulp, the directors' new space opera is a wild ride that's filled with sweeping action, thought-provoking ideas and vast potential." He continued that the film's "bright and colorful universe" was also one "begging to be explored".

OVERAll... it's ONE tO WAtch

Clearly, then, there is no shortage of aspects of Jupiter Ascending that should enthrall audiences, however mixed both amateur and professional reviews of the film have been. We should certainly hope that the movie's many strengths are appreciated by audiences, as the Wachowskis' combined talent is one that deserves to be showcased on silver screens to big crowds for many more years to come.

Who knows... maybe Jupiter Ascending could even turn out to be another The Matrix, a long-term classic even in the face of some dodgy initial reviews.