First and foremost do not be put off by the three hour running time as the narrative is so complex, in-depth and encapsulating they really do whizz by, and In-fact I even left the cinema wanting more. If you want the most out of this film you really have to fully concentrate on it as it can get quite complicated and the different characters stories can get blurred. The film spans several generations in a six way narrative, showing how everything is connected in some way or another. We follow a rebellious clone in futuristic Korea, a tribe in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, a publisher in a nursing home, a journalist, a composer and a voyager travelling across the Pacific, all seemingly completely random, but connected in clever and intriguing ways. All of the actors in the film play there different roles superbly, with Tom Hanks, Ben Whishaw and Doona Bae likely to take most of the plaudits, which will be much deserved. This film will be probably go down in history as one that some people got and one some people didn’t. As I left the cinema with my friends one of them said that it had gone completely over his head and he thought it was a load of nonsense, the other said he thought it was ok, this left me frustratingly trying to explain the story to them before giving up. I myself thought it was absolute genius and extremely compelling with it up there with one of the best films I’ve ever seen.
9/10
First published: March 27, 2013
Will Garnett 