Cloud Atlas: Everything is connected? - Sort of...

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2013)

Most of today's movies tend to be classified as brainless and meant to be watched for fun. "Cloud Atlas" is one of the most thought provoking movies many viewers will ever see. Perhaps it is because it is meant to satirize of society in general as portrayed by Tom Hanks and Hugo Weaving, or because of the nonlinear style that was previously perfected by "Pulp Fiction" back in 1994.
The grand scale of the movie is without a doubt the shining star of this film as all of the environments are captured in a beautiful and accurate representation of what each time-line represents. The soundtrack strongly emphasizes the emotional scenes that are in the film and is in it of itself a marvelous accomplishment in film. The acting is at its premium as it features several talented actors, including Hanks, Weaving, Halle Berry, and Jim Sturgess just to name a few, who melt into each of their several characters that encapsulate six time-lines spanning from 1843 all the way to 2346. There are several small details, including the comet-shaped birthmark and lines like "but what is an ocean but a multitude of drops", that will reward the viewer with a sense of accomplishment if they pay close attention to such details. The rapid pacing of the film is squandered by the presentation in which it presents several time-lines at once and not present each time-line one at a time. The means to present the adaptation of the book in a movie format is understandable, but it should not have to compromise the core structure that the book previously had, which would have made the film more presentable in a similar style to "Pulp Fiction".
The general arc of Mankind, which transforms from a group of people that is willing to con their way into riches to a group of people that is willing to save its own kind in the most troublesome of times despite the temptations of society, is remarkably portrayed by Tom Hanks. The same can be said for the portrayal of Society, wonderfully acted by Hugo Weaving, which has an order to keep in spite of the many rebels that attempt to break the many conventions of society as it merely watches itself crumble in its own shambles of lies, secrets and eventual pending doom in the 2346 time-line.
For the casual viewer, the cluttered presentation can be troublesome at times as the viewer has to be in a mindset to "watch a book" and not watch the film for fun. However, for the thinking and logical man, this type of audience will be highly engrossed by the many themes and subtle details of the film and will be left to ponder about topics that include Reincarnation, Karma, and Salvation needed to break conventions of society and its natural order that society (or Hugo Weaving) needs to be preserved.
I will give this movie a (Bowl of Caviar) out of 10.