Jupiter Ascending Photo Teases Action And Product Placement

By Brent McKnight | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Jupiter AscendingThe Wachowski’s don’t make small movies in any sense of the word. Their films tend to create massive sprawling worlds, incorporate huge set pieces and visual effects, and explore a wide array of themes and philosophies. If what we’ve seen from their latest, the sweeping interstellar adventure Jupiter Ascending, is any indication, that’s not about to change anytime soon. Since The Matrix, the duo have set out to push the boundaries of what you can do with action in a movie, and a new photo shows that, also, is a trend that is will continue.

The image, which first appeared at Total Film, shows stars Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis, and while it looks a little bit like they’re ice skating, they’re actually flying. You can’t be sure if Caine’s (Tatum) shoes are jet packs or something other off world technology, but they certainly seem to be doing the trick as far as defying gravity goes. More than just teasing the action and showing off the two leads, this picture also gets the product placement ball rolling along nicely, with that big UPS logo looming in the background. Hey, these movies as expensive to make, and with the financial disaster that was their last outing, Cloud Atlas, the Wachowskis could use a monetary win.

Jupiter Ascending tells the story of Jupiter Jones (Kunis). Though she may be destined for some big things, the world rains shit on her at every occasion through a series of bad breaks. Due to her unique genetic make up—she shares DNA with the queen of the universe—she is the next in line for the throne. She, of course, doesn’t know this, and spends her day scrubbing rich people’s toilets. Her necessarily makes her a target, and Caine—a genetically enhanced, albino, part-wolf, alien hunter—must protect her, and, along the way, gives her a glimpse at her destiny.

We recently saw a longer trailer that introduced us to Balem the King, Eddie Redmayne’s over the top, bat-shit insane villain. Am I the only one who finds him a little reminiscent of Gary Oldman’s Zorg in The Fifth Element? If nothing else, his involvement takes what is already one crazy sounding premise and cranks the lunacy amplifier up a few notches.

Jupiter Ascending opens up on July 18, where it is scheduled to face off with some stiff competition at the box office. It opens the same day as Disney’s Planes: Fire and Rescue, Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens the week before, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy drops two weeks later on August 1.

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