Years from now, Megalopolis might be seen as Francis Ford Coppola’s greatest work, a first step into a new level of film-making.
But not right now.
It’s full of stiff, arch acting that was clearly a directorial choice, not a lack of acting skill. Some of it is beautiful; some of it looks like a SciFi Channel series. The story just. keeps. GOING. Two and a quarter hours that felt like three. A magic mystery material with a name that sounds like a Godzilla villain.
But my biggest regret about the movie (other than Shia LaBeouf playing a guy named “Clodio”) was that I didn’t go to an “ultimate” screening. For that version of the movie, there’s a part where a live actor interacts with characters onscreen. Some people are going to have to explain why their resumes list “talking to a thirty foot tall Adam Driver head.”
…and why was Aubrey Plaza’s ass more visible in this than when it was the title character of “My Old Ass?” Movies are weird.