Review: Cloud Atlas

When I saw the trailer for this, I was very intrigued by it as it looked BIG. Not only was it big, it was unique, probably the most ambitious film I have ever seen and probably the film I think should have won Best Picture and a few more awards at the 2013 Oscars. The last time I felt like this after seeing a movie was when I saw Inception on my 22nd birthday, which was two years ago. I realized I was seeing something that was different, creative, and the latest cult classic.

Usually with my reviews, I just explain my opinions and the central theme. This time, it is just my opinions of it as I feel you just need to experience it yourself.

Cloud Atlas is an amazing piece of film, and what is great about it is that it is one of those films you could watch again and again and find new messages within the central theme. What makes this film even better is that the central theme could differ between each viewer. What surprised me was most of the critics reaction to it. It is hard to say that this is not ambitious. I don't think the critics appreciated it enough, because I think it just did not click for them. One thing that really struck me was some of them saying that it's almost 3 hours duration will put people off. I wonder what they think of the epics from the Hollywood golden era that won many Oscars.

There are a lot of actors and actresses in this, so there is a lot to get through. Tom Hanks films usually go very high up in my top films of all-time, and this one is no exception. I am not usually a fan of Halle Berry in terms of her acting talent. She was a lot more solid in this one then her previous films, but I still think her most memorable performance was in The Flintstones. I know it is a bit of silly family film, but her performance was perfect for her character and quite a presence. Jim Broadbent was the star for me in this and his views of the film show he was really passionate about this story. Ben Wishaw is becoming a fine actor and his performance in Cloud Atlas will surely secure him more future roles. Like Hanks, Hugo Weaving always features in a lot of my top films of all-time. His striking presence always wins me over and his contribution to this film was much needed. It was nice to see Jim Sturgess again after his role in the entertaining '21'. Other great performances to mention were Doona Bae, James D'Arcy and Hugh Grant surprisingly, who was clearly out of his comfort zone and he did that on purpose to show he can do more than rom-com's.

Overall, the main message is hard put into words, and yet I felt it was easy to understand. If you felt it was difficult to work out, the trailer quite literally explains it in three simple words. The just under 3 hours flew by for me and that is always a good thing. It was sharp, well written, and even if you get lost in the film, don't worry a lot of others have and yet they still fell in love with it. 

If you do hate it, then you could create a terrific guessing game to see who is playing what role as there are A LOT of characters.

I am absolutely shocked to the core that the critics are not giving it enough credit. But I am glad that a lot of the general public are saying it is becoming a cult classic. So usually with cult classics, they get better over time, and I hope they are correct. This is the newest film that has entered my top 100 and it almost made my top 20. Yes, it is that good.

Rating: 9/10