Rotten On The Inside

Rating: 4/10 (4 February 2016)

The truth is I actually liked some of the stories of this film and for the most part it was good and visually beautiful. And yet in the end Cloud Atlas is like a fruit that looks gorgeous and juicy from the outside but that you cut open only to reveal green rot inside.
The film was utterly ruined by its need to deliver The Message and its anti-religious preaching. Its plot is a thinly disguised vehicle for political propaganda. It is just impossible to enjoy a movie when you are repeatedly being slapped in the face.
Leaving that aside, with all its bitter aftertaste, I can still see how it could be justly liked by those already part of the choir. Its many stories are well intertwined and come together nicely, even if you have no idea to what exactly.
There lies possibly the movie's biggest fault is that as you ask yourself in the end – what was the point – and you come away with nothing. The film is a plot built around inspirational quotes that sound deep until you actually stop to think about them for a second.
Overall Cloud Atlas is a well made film but, and I think the box office reflected this, it's not a film for everyone to enjoy.