Cloud Atlas: The IMAX ExperienceMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Cloud Atlas: The IMAX Experience."

See this movie in Cloud Atlas in Standard 35MM

Review This Movie

Go Based on 1,004 reviews
Breakdown:

Sort by: Helpfulness
Review Date

Go
Written October 26, 2012
One Drop in the Ocean

by Escape_2012

Take a bathroom break before sitting down to seeing this convergence of life stories, also better pay attention because there are a lot of 'connect the dots' running thoroughout the story line. If you read the book then this will be a real treat; otherwise . . . . you might find that its a little bit 'complicated.' The acting was good and the performance well played with fantastic cinematography.
- 42 out of 76 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written October 26, 2012
Long but worth every minute

by Drewbowski

there was not a single minute of this movie that I did not enjoy. Music was superb. Acting was incredible (Hanks may get another Oscar). Production design along with special effects will blow your mind. They spent the money on this movie to make it what it should be. Spectacular! Granted it is three hours long and the story jumps around quite a bit I was enthralled by every character and every story line. This will probably win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. If it doesn't, I'll be very disappointed with the judgement of the voters.
- 41 out of 75 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written October 27, 2012
Long but needed to be longer

by MedRed

There's romance, action, drama, and sci-fi yet it doesn't come off as trying to be something for everyone. Each element exists in its place.

I may sound crazy, but this 3 hour movie really could have used another 30-40 minutes. This movie did an excellent job of transitioning between story lines. The downfall of having so many story lines is that there wasn't enough time to develop certain characters and create the emotional attachment necessary to get the full magnitude of several well acted scenes.

There is also a big leap in timeline for two of the scenarios that left me wondering what happened prior to those periods in time.

This 3 hour movie did a great job of keeping up the pace. The acting and visuals were top notch. It just needed a little more time to put more meat on the bones. Someone was probably trying to make sure the movie didn't exceed attention spans, but with this many story lines... the extra time would have been appreciated.
- 40 out of 74 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written October 31, 2012
Complex and rewarding

by Malinfox

I read the book and loved both it and the movie. They are different experiences and the movie, I think, retains the spirit of the book in a surprising way. Intercutting the six storylines made them easier to keep track of; I never forgot one or felt lost. The message of the story remains as powerful from the movie as it was in the book, and the acting and set/costume design are as terrific as I would have hoped for.
- 33 out of 60 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written November 1, 2012
Awe inspiring celebration of life

by ReddGator

This movie was perhaps the most complex and compelling film I have ever seen. It is hard to follow for this reason, and perhaps me being a SciFi aficionado makes a difference, but I see this move as a brilliant celebration of the continuity of life through reincarnation. The director has been criticized for drudgery and boredom, and I can certainly see the reason for this. It is long and arduous. However, the story line's complexity demands a through examination of each life event to describe the interaction and continuity that does exist.

If you don't like long movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, then this movie is not for you. But if you have a vivid imagination and if you believe in reincarnation or the power of love and the humanity that is in most of us, then it is not one you should miss.

I would not be surprised to see Tom Hanks nominated as Best Actor. Other actors also portray their characters extremely well.
- 30 out of 54 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written October 28, 2012
Amazing for a movie I couldn't understand

by

I really have no idea how a movie like this gets made other than the fact that the Wachowski brothers and Tom Hanks are box office gold. But as strange and non linear as it is, it has a beauty and artistic essence that lost cannot be found anywhere else. Just made me feel. When was the last time a movie opened up your feelings on a purely visceral and emotional level?
- 34 out of 62 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
No
Written October 30, 2012
Cloud Atlas

by

It seemed like it tried to hard for me. There was a message in there somewhere but it wasn't very focused. The real stars were the makeup artists.
- 17 out of 29 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
So-so
Written November 4, 2012
Captivating but not Satisfying

by lendeben

Today I will go on line and buy the book; but I wish I knew that before I spent three hours watching what appears to the uninitiated to be too many interleaved and far flung story lines attempting to converge but not quite making it. An action-packed epic film with an impressive cast, great acting, excellent special effects and a powerful metaphysical premise should be moving and satisfying. I get the idea that disparate people could be connected in this unexpected way, but this 3 hour film simply doesn't make it. Perhaps a pilot and several sequels that allow the viewer to savor the characters and appreciate the magnitude of the concept would have been a better approach than attempting to deliver it all in one dose. I left the theater feeling mostly frustrated.
- 11 out of 17 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written October 28, 2012
Stunning visuals & extraordinary acting make up for disconnected storyline

by

Well this movie was beyond my expectations. I'm not quite sure how to critique it. If you go with any expectations, you may leave dissapointed. However, I quite liked it. To me, it was like seeing or hearing about different storys randomly throughout the movie. They don't always relate to each other but seeing the same actors playing other roles is quite entertaining. I'll need to watch the movie again to better understand it myself. This movie does have it all though, comedy, sci fi, action, suspense,horror, thriller, EPIC. I don't see why their are so many bad reviews about this movie though. Perhaps mankind isn't sophisticated enough to enjoy the art of this film. Although I can't say that it's so amazing, you'll be missing out on a masterpiece if you don't go.....I can say that it's worth watching if you have about 3 hours to spend.
- 16 out of 27 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written November 5, 2012
cloud atlas

by itsacalling

this is by far the best movie i have seen in years. one of the best i've ever seen in my 30 years of living. do not pay any attention to the negative reviews. this movie received a 10 minute standing ovation after it premiered at the sundance film festival this year. watch the movie and you'll see why.
- 24 out of 43 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written October 29, 2012
Call me crazy but I really really liked this movie

by kmoney51

I never heard of the book and didn't really see much as far as previews for this movie. I was really surprised with how good this movie turned out-a perfect blend of drama, comedy, action, science fiction, romance, and probably a few more genres all in a 3 hour movie. Tom Hanks is great as multiple characters as each actor/actress plays more than one character. Halle Berry still looks great, especially in that white body suit. The scenery throughout the different time periods was perfect as it set the mood for each story. I can see how some people were confused as the half dozen stories were very unique but each had a similar message. Aside from the attempt to make an asian girl look hispanic and caucasian a few of the stories, the other cast members were convincing in their other roles. If your looking for mindless entertainment then I would skip this one but if you are looking for something that will enlighten you and give you a different view of the world then check this out.
- 14 out of 24 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written October 27, 2012
Long and deep, very deep

by fresnodoggy

Great acting, you really must pay pat attention and think through this one or you will be lost. Worth seeing though. I was expecting more. Pretty graphic violence and sex plus nudity so leave the kids at home, plus it is a 3 hour movie so they would be bored anyway. My only regret is not researching and seeing that Susan Surandan was in the movie. I try to stay away from her movies since she likes to be a political activist.
- 16 out of 28 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written November 9, 2012
Cloud Atlas is complex, but worth your attention

by rhranek

It's not a time travel movie, but if you like those, then you'll love Cloud Atlas. It's a very complexly presented weave of several story lines thrown at the viewer in pieces just enough to wet your appetite for what comes next as you cycle between time periods. Some of the character's physical alterations distract you from the overall plots, but definitely wait through the first part of the credits to see which actors played which roles in each sub-story. I've only seen it once, but this movie will take repeated viewings to fully appreciate. It's both hopeful and a warning of what our future could become, even if we are careful. Most people who passively digest sit-comms will not understand Cloud Atlas, so see it before it disappears from the theaters.
- 9 out of 14 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written October 27, 2012
Prepare yourself for unconventional story telling.

by

David Mitchell's novel was praised for its unconventional story telling; six stories nested in one another like Russian Dolls over the span of five centuries.

The movie takes a similar unconventional approach. The storyline makes few departures from the novel, however, the story telling changes from the comparatively simple chronological structure of the book to quickly jumping between stories based on the similarity of events.

Having read the novel, I appreciated the filmmakers choice because I felt that the novel's structure would be far to slow paced for a three hour film. My wife, who did not read the book, also enjoyed the movie, but definitely got lost at points when the film cut from an interview in the 22nd century to merchant ship in 1849, to a post apocalyptic future.

However, if you can survive the non linear story telling, the ending promises a huge emotional payoff.
- 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written October 28, 2012
Relax and Let it Wash Over You

by hobbes3

Just let it happen. Don't overthink it. Calling this "sci-fi" is very misleading and probably off-putting for a lot of movie-goers. While some of it does take place in the future, some of it takes place in the past. It's about people and how we interact and how we connect and how everything we do matters.
Roger Ebert said it best: "What was important was that I set my mind free to play. Clouds do not really look like camels or sailing ships or castles in the sky. They are simply a natural process at work. So too, perhaps, are our lives."
The point isn?t to make Doona Bae look like an English/American or Jim Sturgess look Korean. You can always see the actor peeking through and you?re supposed to. The different looks are merely representational, to show that this is the same soul traveling through time. (Although I admit there were a few cases that I didn't realize a few of the actors in bit parts until the credits rolled.)
- 13 out of 22 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No