Academy Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola is best known for making iconic films like “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now.” However, in his most recent project, “Megalopolis,” Coppola bit off more than he could chew.
The film follows a genius/supernatural artist named Cesar (Adam Driver), who aims to build a better future for mankind. Conflict arises when Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) opposes Cesar’s plans.
Coppola incorporates too many storylines that fall short of developing compelling characters and plot points. He throws ideas and concepts that are hard to appreciate. The overwhelming number of concepts made it a chore to get through the film instead of enjoying it.
Coppola tries to show the audience a mirror to reflect how we as a society deal with headlines, politics, classism and the treatment of others, but the film starts to lose itself in the process. There are moments in the film where Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza) is trying to overtake Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight) and obtain his empire, but the film seems rushed to a point where it looks and feels dull to watch on screen.
When attempting to connect to reality, Coppola struggles to relate to the audience and comes off as pretentious.
The film had issues visually. Multiple scenes did not have the greatest visual effects. There are scenes where Coppola invites us to see what is going on in Cesar’s mind, and there are colors that mix with imagery that does not connect to the overall story or Cesar’s motives. It felt like it was there just to be there and had no sort of meaning.
The cast’s performances varied from okay to good. Cesar was the main driving point of the story, and Driver was suitable for the script. Driver utilized different inflections in his voice to indicate whether he had a creative mindset or was intimate. There was a variety of range to Driver’s performances that made the film bearable.
Mayor Cicero is the strong opposite of Cesar. The film showed off their different ideologies, resulting in a rushed, poorly written, head-to-head dynamic. The film would build up suspense and intrigue about topics in the world in which Mayor Cicero and Cesar have differences, then switch off to a different plot point, leaving the scene feeling pointless to the plot progression.
Once we get back to Mayor Cicero and Cesar, the issues are just brushed away, and now we are onto the next issue. The scenes did not have time to breathe, and they kept pushing the pace.
Unlike the other cast members, Plaza’s role in the film brought a magnetic energy to the screen. Wow, Platinum is a character who allows Plaza to be unhinged and go all out.
Just like Driver in the movie, Plaza showed off her range the best way she knew how with chaos and beauty. Anytime Plaza was on screen, she was a scene stealer
“Megalopolis” tackles wild concepts as confusing as the trailers when the end credits scroll. From line delivery to emotionless scenes, the rest of the cast showed no passion for this project. It is just an unfocused, careless and sloppy execution of a film.
Rating: 4/10