MEGALOPOLIS

The film is somewhat hard to explain without giving too much away but I'll do my best. In the story, New Rome takes the place of New York City. Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) wants to build a utopian city, while his most fierce adversary, Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), does everything in his power to stop him. Caught in the middle is Cicero's daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who happens to be in love with Cesar. The film is ambitious for legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, who financed most of it himself to the tune of over $100 million. So I applaud the man for literally putting his money where his mouth is. However, the film for me didn't work overall. Visually it's beautiful but it's style over substance. The story I found to be a bit dull in parts and didn't explain as much as it could to the viewer. It was awesome seeing chariot races in Madison Square Garden and the constant roman influences on the hair and costumes, particularly in the sandals department. But the forbidden love story line featuring Cesar and Julia seemed too Romeo & Juliet. If this was an homage from Coppola than that I understand. Otherwise, that story's been done to death. I also appreciate the fact Coppola didn't want to get political with his cast by hiring "controversial" actors in Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voight. LaBeouf and Aubrey Plaza give the best performances IMO as Shia plays cousin to Cesar while Aubrey is a former lover of Cesar's and later marry's his uncle, Hamilton Crassus III, played by Voight. Perhaps in time this film will be viewed differently but for me, there wasn't much underneath the hood. 5/10