Matrix is one of the most famous sci-fi movies of all time, and it was one of the biggest successes for the sibling duo of the Wachowskis, who continued to direct and produce other projects even after this success. A later sci-fi film was a quite ambitious project that turned out to be a flop.
Which film is it about? In 1999, Matrix was released, a new science fiction film that combined unusual philosophical aspects with stylized action. This was the first major success of the Wachowski siblings, who later tried to realize other quirky projects as producers and directors.
That didn’t always work. They attempted to adapt an old anime with Speed Racer in 2008. But that wasn’t the only major project of the directing duo. In 2012, Cloud Atlas was released, which also involved German director Tom Tykwer.
The film was an adaptation of the novel The Cloud Atlas and featured two major actors, Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, in the lead roles. However, the film flopped.
A trailer for the film can be seen here:
An ambitious sci-fi film was doomed to fail
What is Cloud Atlas about? Cloud Atlas tells 6 different stories from 6 different time levels. It shows how characters can also have a significant impact on other time levels. Cloud Atlas addresses philosophical and religious themes, such as reincarnation.
In the different time levels, the same actors play different characters to illustrate the idea behind reincarnation and the influence of souls. The cast is impressive. Besides Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in the lead roles, well-known actors like Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, and Jim Broadbent also appear.
Yet, despite the good cast, the interesting premise, and the Matrix creators behind it, the film was a flop.
The film cost around IMDb nearly 102 million US dollars. It’s unclear whether this includes marketing costs. This was a high budget for an independent film at the time, to which Warner Bros. contributed just a few million dollars. The film itself earned only around 130 million US dollars worldwide.
This means it barely made back the production costs.
How did critics and audiences react to the film? The film received mixed reactions from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film barely has a positive rating with audiences (over 100,000 reviews) and critics (288 reviews), each at 66%.
Cloud Atlas wanted too much
Where was the problem? Cloud Atlas aims to tell a complex story with various time strands. This is difficult and ambitious, even in 3 hours. This seems to have been a significant issue. Marketing such a film and promoting it with trailers is challenging.
The negative reviews often refer to the failed ambition that has been the downfall of the Wachowskis before. Negative user reviews find that the film is too confusing, long, and unnecessarily complicated.
However, the film also has many supporters. Many positive user reviews on Rotten Tomatoes love the film and it is often referred to as a favorite film
. Positive critic reviews praise the film for the emotions and personal stories within the complex narrative.
What about you? Have you seen Cloud Atlas and what do you think of the film? Let us know in the comments. Sometimes a single film is supposed to start a whole film universe. But with The Mummy, that didn’t work out: A fantasy film with Tom Cruise was supposed to kick off a large universe like Marvel – But it ended up being a flop
