+3
Since Coppola is so keen on "starting a debate"... is it possible that he made two versions of this movie, a good one and a bad one and put both out into cinemas just to divide audiences...?
Anyway, I watched this with an open mind, but it was pretty bad. An absolute lack of narrative sense, flow or pace. Characters don't talk to each either, they pontificate or quote Shakespeare or Marcus Aurelius and nobody undergoes any character development whatsoever. The world building is shoddy and everything is overexplained (literally, through voiceover and title cards). Instead of having parallels to ancient Rome, people literally walk around in togas. The followers of the populist politician wear red caps. There is no subtlety. Too much of it appears to be a dream sequence or drug-induced hallucination which is the most tedious thing to watch. It's also cringily sexist in so many ways. The ending just sort of happens and feels distinctly unearned.
Adam Driver plays a genius architect with time-stopping powers who may or may not have murdered his wife, like he's escaped from a rejected first draft of a Christopher Nolan script. Was this made during the screen-writers strike? Or should Coppola have sold another vineyard to pay for a better script-writer?
On the plus side, there are some nice costumes and scenery in some scenes. Aubrey Plaza as the ridiculously named Wow Platinum has some campy charm. And does a weirdly out of place Parks and Rec reference. That's about it for the plus side.