Cloud Atlas set the bar far too high

Rating: 7/10 (9 November 2012)

A mind-numbing, philosophically-challenging movie that wants to achieve too much with its complex, erratic plot-line. Intertwining five different stories, Cloud Atlas ponders many intriguing topics, such as reincarnation, determinism, faith, metamorphosis, and the way people's lives in different eras combine and form history as we know it. While though-provoking and engaging, the film doesn't necessarily arrive at a conclusion that is satisfactory enough for the audiences.
Even though - through its most Hollywood-like ending - Cloud Atlas tries to answer all the question stated in its over-complicated mash-up of interconnected tales, the manner in which it philosophizes might sound too superficial at times. It's safe to say that the movie purposefully wants to drag the viewers into its prodigious, unfathomable universe with an especially incoherent storyline (still, connecting all the dots by oneself gives great amount of pleasure). Furthermore, it's a rather weighty mixture of genres, all wrapped up in a neat package of astounding visual effects and eye-popping landscapes.
Surprisingly, the same actors play unevenly in various segments, and the blame is on the directors' side (there is a distinction between the way all the parts are directed and it's significant to note that there is a visible difference in the filmmakers' styles). Cloud Atlas is an epic film, but in that case it's not a strong and authentic compliment. Its premise is undeniably enormous and smashing, but the substance calls for some sure rewrites.
In defense of the whole movie it's crucial to say that the book of the same name was named one of the most 'unfilmable' of all. By trying to play subconsciously on people's imagination, the picture invites us to an unknown world filled with artificial characters with too many plastic surgeries, and to a place where some stories seem too redundant and insignificant in the final evaluation. While ambitious, Cloud Atlas evaluates its themes briefly and arrives at a conclusion that's not to be grasped wholeheartedly.