If I had written this review right after I walked out of the theater, I might've given it somewhere around a 3. The story isn't very coherent, and you get the impression that it takes itself way too seriously. The messages and themes are also not very subtle. However, the longer I think about this movie, the more I appreciate it. It does a very good job at showing how powerful certain decisions can be for the future. It has strong emotional power during several scenes, and it definitely makes you think. As a movie fan, I've been growing tired of seeing so many similar movies, no matter the genre or style. Action movies, emotional dramas, and comedies, mostly seem to each blend in with the other movies of their genre, so it was nice to see something unlike any other movie. It is thoroughly entertaining, and while you might get the immediate impression that it is pretentious, self-indulgent, and not deep or intelligent enough to back that pretentiousness up, just let it gestate it your head, and I think you will come to appreciate it for what it has to offer.… Expand

Loved this movie! Truly one of the best movies I have ever seen. I can see why it might not appeal to everyone but I think most people will appreciate the unique story and sheer entertainment value of this movie. It has a little bit of everything that makes a movie great!

I just want to tell the world what a wonderful movie that is. I came out of the movie theater as a changed man. Can't stop thinking about it and I'm definitely going again as that was the shortest 3hrs I've ever experienced. I want, no, I NEED more. Already bought the book too. Do yourself a favor and go see it. Now.

Cloud Atlas is going to seriously divide audiences. It is one of the most ambitious films of all time, and every once in a while it falls flat under the weight of it's own ambition, mostly due to hugely inconsistent makeup. But it makes up for that by pushing the boundaries of storytelling, editing, artistic vision and hugely personal ambition. It's hard not to admire and respect this film for reaching to the stars in a time where very few movies try anymore. It flows wonderfully like a beautiful piece of music, which makes the near 3 hour running time a luxury and not a boring chore. We need more films like this, or else I have great fear for the future of cinema… Expand

I went into cloud atlas with fairly high expectations. A close friend of mine was raving about it being a return to form for the Wachowskis. It's now been around 4 days after leaving the theater and the movie is still on my mind. I was amazed to see the backlash the movie received from the critics. In my opinion, it was a remarkable and moving epic, evoking themes rarely visited in cinema let alone any art form. I'm planning on seeing it again; it is easily my favorite of the year. It seems that the people that came away disappointed were focusing on the details of each individual story not realizing that the big picture is what this move is all about. Don't get bogged down with the reincarnation theme. The spectacular stitching of stories and tone makes the six stories into one; strengthening the motif of interconnectedness of people between the times. I rarely get choked up when watching movies. Cloud Atlas is an emotional masterpiece.… Expand

They say its too long. They say it doesn't make sense. I was very surprised by these comments. At 3 hours I didn't want it to end. It takes you through the human experience and it doesn't spoon feed you. if you snooze while watching you won't get it. It's about getting involved with the stories. I Just loved it. Saw it twice and enjoyed it even more the second time.

This movie tries so hard to be emotional by cramming in as many characters and story lines as possible, without ever making the audience care. Everyone that says it is so great, is in denial. This movie will not win any awards. I guarantee it. I have never walked out before the end of a movie until I saw this. Terrible.

The movie is very complex, it consists of six different stories occurring in different time periods, but all of them are somehow connected to each other. The stories keep you thrilled during all three hours of this movie. There are some deep ideas here, though I'm sure that a lot of people will find this movie boring because of lack of action scenes. Summing up, I'd say that this is probably The Best Movie in 2012.… Expand

If you don't have an imagination, like to ponder, dislike thinking or feeling, don't watch this movie. This is one of those movies where you may have to watch a couple times to see all that it has to offer, for me that's a good thing, but some may not like that aspect.

This is the type of movie where the first time you see it, it is merely an introduction. I can see myself watching it countless times over and over on blu-ray picking up things I did not realize before. AWESOME film. It is a shame that so many critics blasted it. If you check the movies that the critics that blasted this one rated high, it is evident that they have no business being critics lol. I won't give it away, but there is a hilarious and truly gratifying scene involving a critic. I am guessing this scene is part of the reason some of them were sour in their reviews. 10+… Collapse

Cloud Atlas was a singularly phenomenal achievement; a testament to the presence and power of human dignity across time, cultures, genders, and genres, and the possibility of redemption for even the most sinister souls. I am unequivocally in love with this movie.

Ever since the first time I saw the trailer for this film, I've been intrigued as to how such an intertwisting of differing tales could possibly be portrayed coherently and, more importantly, meaningfully on-screen (or in any medium, frankly). Intent on finding out, I decided to read the book before the movie was released. I was much exhilarated by the boldness of the book, and only slightly disappointed by the weakness of some of the stories portrayed there. I say this not because the movie reflects such weaknesses, but because it takes the weaknesses and turns them into wild, weeping, glowing success. While the book follows each tale in a tiered, orderly fashion - alphabetically in chronological order: ABCDEFEDCBA respectively (A being the 1830s, F being some unknown date in the deep future) - the movie twists and contorts the entire story by switching almost randomly between each tale in a meaningful and telling way. Where in the book, a story may end on a somber and somewhat uneventful note, the movie wraps that ending amongst other happenings from the other stories to provide context the book fails to adequately capture or express. Albeit, this is mostly done by much-abbreviating each story and condensing general plot structures to super-saturated levels compared to the book's meanderings. Nevertheless, the movie does not fail to capture the essence of each.

What struck me the hardest, however, was not the way each story was interwoven in the film, but how the film actually manages to improve many of the stories by condensing them. The characters the book familiarizes the reader with are suddenly granted the respect they deserve in their much-heightened Hollywood movie aspects, and I respect the filmmakers for giving them the chance to shine.

The obvious downside to all of this is that reading the novel is an absolutely necessary prerequisite for watching the film. Otherwise, the pure joy you find in each story made new, each character given a better chance to fulfill their role, and the meaning behind the story-weaving device all become an incomprehensible muddle of six slightly disappointing tales told in a new but annoying fashion. Nevertheless, despite this downside, I cannot help but give this movie high marks; they took the material, absorbed it thoroughly, and from it built a glorious masterpiece. If only the book could be sold as appendices to the film's great triumph.… Expand

It seems that most of the negative reviews about the coherence between stories are similar to complaints about Inception when it first debuted - it was too confusing to follow all the different layers. If you have a small attention span and cannot follow complex plots, skip this movie and catch something a little simpler. If, however, you are able to follow along (not a difficult feat, mind you), this movie will astound you. It's beautiful and moving in ways that not a lot of films are, and it will definitely stay with you for a while.… Expand

My wife picked this movie....that's the last time I let her do that. If this movie wins even one Oscar I might boycott movies. This movie is like that one kid in school who tries way way way too hard. Awkward and ultimately tragic. The only reason I'm not giving this the lowest score possible is because it has Halle Berry.

It's crazy and mind-blowing.

Really disliked it. Couldn't connect or relate to any of the characters. The 6 stories were a low blow and a badly made one at capitalism, but they didn't seem to connect at all. The stories were bad individually and collectively they are worse. It's three hours but it feels like ages. In my opinion it was also one of the worst performances made by Tom Hanks...

To the critics who say that this is a muddled film devoid of clarity and purpose, you are wrong.
To me, after I fell for the great and varied stories in different ages, I fell in love with the idea(s) that were embedded in Cloud Atlas which are mercurial at first but become clearer upon second and third viewings.

The message of the film underneath all of the epic cinematography, unbelievable acting and interwoven and confusing (only upon the first viewing) stories, lies possibly the most progressive message ever contained in a film.

The first message is a simple one: Liberty for all. The first story is one condemning slavery, the second condemns those against gay rights, the third (in the 1970's) condemns the misuse of corporate power and military power to obtain wealth at the expense of the public, the fourth is a condemnation of the mistreatment of the old, the fifth supports the rights of clones not yet born and introduces a messiah who is both woman and Asian (bucking the typical white male saints and prophets), and the sixth makes whites the confused and poor while the blacks are the advanced people with "fusion engines". This film is against racism, unabated corporatism, is pro-environmental (eventually humans are forced to leave the Earth and the sub levels of some future city are drowned and polluted) while at the same time it approaches spirituality through a point of view having far more to do with some kind of reincarnation (the characters in different ages who play the same actors fall in love over and over again) that also stabs at modern "hook-up" culture and points towards the idea of true love with one other person.

****Pay attention who Hugo Weaving is cast as, for he represents evil and the devil in nearly every role he plays in this film. That is what this film is against.

For our mostly christian, anti-science, white male dominated, hook-up cultured, "business" obsessed (which is failing because it is concerned with moving money and not creating wealth or advancing science) world, these ideas are completely radical. Further it takes some commitment to watch the film and truly understand it.

Personally I found the film to be worth my ticket and more.

Roger Ebert wrote that "Life of Pi" could just as well be called "Life". The same is true for this film especially in it's treatment of love and the idea of the equality of all mankind (past, present and future). At the end of the day though, this film is just flat out entertaining and beautiful and takes film to a place where it hasn't been and probably will not go for a long time to come. It's lights and sounds, cgi, and acting with take you more places than you can imagine in 3 hours. And if it confuses you the first time, go see it again.… Expand

How does this movie show how one persons action changed the future? Wouldn't you need to shoot two endings for that? This movie is confusing and annoying, the only decent timeline is the Asian lady's in the takeout shop. Everything else seems more like a filler. Oh the racist boat timelines also good. But everything else just dampens the major message of the film.

Not a good film for the dumb. What you are experiencing is a complex weaving of lives, all of which are basically the same, lived from different points in time and space. The best way to understand the film is to walk around a populated area and image yourself as the other people. That old black woman, I was her once. She was me once. And so on. "Our lives are not our own." It's not all THAT complicated. But that's the gist of the film. Reviewers who didn't like how it was done didn't stop to think about why it was done that way. That is exactly why it was done that way.… Expand

Anyone who doesn't like this movie is just stupid.

It's way beyond the Matrix in terms of philosophy, plot complexity, and so forth. It's not as obsessed with action as it is the interconnected weavings of characters, which is central to the entire film. The point is that "our lives are not our own," and it shows this in a way no other film ever could.

Cloud theoretically tries to be the best movie marketing event in history, balancing the whole "sphere" of what something can be to everyone in a single piece of art work. But in some ways I feel like Cloud is a movie version of Starbucks. Cloud tries to dominate delightfully bowing down to film makers everywhere throughout the movie. But I have to admit even... I... love Starbucks. So punk rock, anti-modernist, or hippie roots aside, this is still great coffee despite it's single flaw of domination.

If you don't know by now Tom Tyker of Run Lola Run and Perfume worked on this film. It is probably influenced much more by the risqué smell of the latter. You may have heard that the creators of the Matrix series played God in this epic actor heavy film too, but don't forget that they also made Speed Racer and V for Vendetta. All their past experiences are thrown on the table for this theme park of a "flick". But don't worry you will get your money's worth, this picaresque film is a three-hour long "park special".

As far as the actors. The Wachowski's and Tyker woefully and tediously molded these infamous creatures into the beauty that makes them ageless, and in someways I mean that literally. Then to make the play dough stick there are some little production perks that drizzle rewatchability all over this film, and they know it, as you will be treated to something special at the end of the film like a good waiter tending to it's guests.

You will be happy you watched. In some ways I could see this masterpiece transcending time as one of the best films in history. But I'm not the judge, we the consumer are, and only one of our scientific gods, time, will tell.… Expand

This film is vast in scope. The downside is that, as a result of stretching so vast, some of the plots become rather thin. However, the synergy of these stories woven together still left me feeling like I had seen something epic and powerful. This movie has some staggering flaws that prevent it from being the masterpiece of cinema it could have been. Character development is one of the things that were spread thin, and in a movie like this, it needs to be paramount. The moral themes of the movie have all been beaten to a dead horse by other films. They're important themes critical to our worldview, but in Cloud Atlas it just comes across as preachy and obvious, which almost belittles the importance of these themes. On the plus side, the visuals and directing are amazing. Despite the setting shifting so drastically, they made all the stories somehow be consistent and interwoven well. That was critical in the main theme of the movie that "everything is connected." That theme has been done in other movie and television shows before, but Cloud Atlas has at least done that one exceptionally well, although on first view it can be difficult to piece it all together. I consider myself a fairly intelligent viewer: I was able to watch things like Inception and Looper without an issue following the plot. But Cloud Atlas left me scrambling to put the puzzle pieces together. I'm still not sure if this is due to bad writing or an incredibly good job at being cryptic and subtle. For a movie that tries to connect everything, it will be mindbogglingly difficult for most viewers to do so. Most will give up and just see the stories as an incoherent, garbled mess. Fortunately, the more I think about the film, the more I realize about its connections. I might even watch it again, despite its 3 hour length. The person I watched the movie with absolutely hated the film and would never consider watching again. But I'm a patient person who likes these kinds of movies, even if they are a bit over the top and contrived at times. If you have no problem with the willful suspension of disbelief and love longwinded but heartfelt fantasy movies, definitely see Cloud Atlas. If you have an "ADHD" approach to media, you might want to steer away. This movie is not for the impatient. It's for the inquisitive--those who love to keep wondering long after the video stops rolling. Basically, if you liked the ending of LOST, you might like Cloud Atlas. Vice versa... perhaps not.… Expand

There is so much wrong with this sludge of a "movie" that 5000 characters will simply not suffice to mention all the stupidities & failures. So I'll make it short: SECOND.WORST.MOVIE.EVER. (Tree fo Life is still holding the No. 1 position) Banging your head against the wall for 3 hours will be less of a torture than sitting through this abomination.

This is probably one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. The problems with it are very minor that I see people making a large issue of, or it's that they didn't catch what the movie was portraying. Which I don't blame them. I didn't see nearly as much on my first viewing. The stories are very well tied together despite how it may make it look like they're not. They tend to focus a lot more on the storytelling than they do on the actual links between timelines. Understandably so, for the movie was already a bit long.… Expand

I love the Wachowski Bros., but they should've made another movie after a 4-year absence since 2009's critical and commercial disappointment which is "Ninja Assassin." I saw the movie this weekend and it was supposed to be 3 hours, but 2 and a half hours? Well, I got a mixed feeling about Cloud Atlas. Some reviews were good, others having difficulty on why the action almost takes it to new heights. I knew it was a disappointment for both Tom Hanks and Halle Berry since it can't match any of the Matrix success. But I'll just have to wait for a rental.… Expand

Cloud Atlas -- I don't get it. While I was mesmerized by many breathtaking scenes and actor's playing different roles, I just didn't get the point of the whole story. None of the stories made me care. I found myself trying to figure out which actor was behind some heavy make up.

If the source novel from David Mitchell is claimed to be "the most impossible one to be adapted to a feature film", the true grit behind the director trio alone merits some accolade. But the critical box-office feedback firmly suggests they will never retrieve the gargantuan budget (over 100,000,000$ for production and nothing else), while being under the barrage of divisive reviews from the critics, an ominous pre-watch hunch could never be dissolved until I finally watched it on the super-big screen (not as large as an IMAX) in the cinema, and I must confess it comes out far "stunning" than I had expected.

Graphically bountiful visual stunts of 6 inter-linked stories which stretch across different eras (from primitive tribe to a clone-ed future world) certainly has paid off its lengthy running time, 172 minutes passed by fleetingly with more anticipation was still hanging there when the ending credits inconveniently started to roll. CLOUD ATLAS is a cleverly designed omnibus, using same actors playing multiple roles in different sub-stories, consistently establishes a sense of reincarnation and an almost sacred disposition to influence a more elusive and conscience-contingent point-of-view into its viewer… Expand

Cloud Atlas is a curious film. It sets its ambitions to astronomical levels but at the end of the days does what it does well but is not at all a revolutionary film nor is it free of flaws. There is an emotional prize at the end if you can bear with the long convolution plot with six distinct stories played by a handful of the same actors and actresses that transcend race and gender. My biggest gripe with the movie was without a doubt the inclusion of unnecessary scenes in the movie. Sure, the 1936 plot involved a bisexual male but did they have to really articulate homosexual innuendos to such degree? Its one thing to vouch for gender equality rights and another to gross the crap out of the audience. Every single person in the room who saw this film with me felt extremely uncomfortable at the gay scenes involving the 1936 music composer. I mean, sure he's gay we get that and we can empathize with his lovelife but I felt that the Wachowski's went overboard with the 'feel sorry for homos' stuff. On the other hand, was the revealing if mercifully brief sex scene involving Sonmi really necessary? A kissing scene would have sufficed. If I want to watch the intimate shots of an Asian woman GRINDING on some guy's penis, I would simply go to a porn site. Oh and what the hell is with the White-guy-with-Asian-makeup-to-make-them-look-Asian **** I dont mind the gender swaps in some of the plotlines. In fact, it just shows how talented actors like Weaving, Berry, Hanks and Grant be. Putting prosthetic makeup on a white guy to make him look Asian is not only laughable at viewing but is also ultimately offensive. Why not just hire a Asian actor? Would the plot really have suffered if they had not used the same actor seen in other plotlines? Apart from those little niggles, the film excels in other departments. Cinematography is excellent, the acting brilliant and the film score...one of the best in recent times. I just felt that the Cloud Atlas Sextet is ultimately underutilized in the film as a whole. Its often too faint to be heard or too brief to make an impact. Thankfully, the credits serves this purpose but at the end of the day, had they used the score more and in appropriate scenes, I felt that the movie would have benefited a lot more. While all six plotlines are great, in the end, the ones that felt most well done and enjoyable are without a doubt Rey's 1973 plot, Cavendish's 2012 plot and the Post-Apocalyptic Zachary plot. On the note of Zachary's story, it actually got me intrigued on the premise of it - so apparently the world collapsed under some cataclysm and humanity had been reduced to primitive tribes and a handful of still advance humans. I would've love to hear more about what happened at The Fall, how the Prescients had survived this and where they were in this era, what happened to the empty lands of the world after The Fall and on the colonies on the other planets. All in all, Cloud Atlas is a brilliant film that rewards the viewer with an emotional gift but at the expense of sitting through nearly 3 hours of elongated plotlines filled with action, drama and dull, unnecessary moments. This should've been a 2~2.5 hour film in this standard OR a 3 hour that's filled with info. Instead we get a 3 hour film that is essentially a 2 hour film stretched to its brim with rudimentary moments. You may hate it, you may love, but at the end of the day, it will have an impact on your movie-watching experience. An ambitious title that could've been a lot better had its significant flaws been ironed out and the Cloud Atlas sextet been utilized more frequently.… Expand