Cloud Atlas

3.5/5

I liked it. I did. It's a brilliant idea translated well to film. The idea works. The connections of all the lives are interesting, passionately told and acted, and relevant. That being said...I didn't care about anyone. I was sucked into the concept like I was listening to a well written lecture on the idea - but I had no care for anyone except far future Tom Hanks and his family and Sonmi 451. The movie was large, but not large enough to generate any real emotion other than perhaps a touch of situational drama (sure, forbidden love is sad, but why should I care about you inparticular?). I also hated the terrible Asian makeup. That made no sense to me. The movie is about souls connecting, and people reincarnating. NOT about physical bodies reincarnating. And that brought confusion - how was it Sonmi 451 was related to Tom Hanks, but Tom Hanks of that time period wasn't related to any other version of himself? I dunno. Maybe I'm overthinking it? But a movie that wants to be incredibly intelligent has to be analyzed. And I find a bit too much wrong with this movie to think of it as brilliant. It's an interesting topic presented well, but not emotionally interesting.