About.com Rating

Bottom Line:  Jupiter Ascending is an action packed film that includes a lot of great space battles and visual effects but lacks a cohesive script and relatable characters.  Younger audience members may question some of the character’s decisions and the conversational use of profanity may not be appropriate.

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some violence, sequences of sci-fi action, some suggestive content and partial nudity
Genre: Action adventure fantasy
Age recommendation: 13+
Runtime: 127 Minutes
Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton
Studio: Warner Brothers Pictures
Release Date: February 6, 2014

Jupiter Ascending - Overview

Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) works as a cleaning lady in a family business.  She hates her job and lives under the protective guidance of her over-bearing extended family.  In a hare-brained money earning scheme concocted by her cousin, she goes to a fertility clinic to have her eggs harvested.  During the procedure, the doctors, who are actually alien mercenaries, attempt to kill her.  She is rescued by Caine (Channing Tatum), an ex-military, genetically enhanced renegade, and she learns her true identity.

The House of Abrasax has owned and ruled over the life on all the inhabited planets in the universe.  Three heirs vie for control over one another:  Balem (Eddie Redmayne), Kalique (Tuppence Middleton) and Titus (Douglas Booth).  Jupiter discovers that she too is an heir to the dynasty, with a much greater claim on the ruling control.  As she struggles to understand this part of her destiny, she is pitted against forces that want to both use her and destroy her.

  Questions of loyalty are raised and she doesn’t know who to trust.

A secondary storyline that weaves into the main storyline is that of Caine and his own fall from grace.  He and Stinger Apini (Sean Bean) have a tumultuous past, and both strive to make amends to regain their former status.  They struggle for their own survival while deciding what role they want to play in this conflict.

The story has many sub plots that don’t seem to fit into the primary storyline.  Although little information is presented, these subplots have no effect on the main storytelling; they are just mildly confusing and distracting.  The film feels like there is a larger story being told but with so much of the details left out, the story struggles to maintain continuity.  With all this extraneous and unrelated plot deviations, the audience has a difficult time feeling any real connection to the characters and the events that happen to them.

Jupiter Ascending - Review and Info for Parents

The rating of PG-13 is very appropriate for this film.  There is a lot of science fiction action and violence with numerous hand-to-hand fighting scenes.  The battle scenes evoke a lot of excitement and much of the violence includes science fiction fantasy creatures.  This may not be a film that the entire family wants to see together, but it is a good one for tweens and teens to see with friends.  The action, the visual effects, and the simple love story all add to the entertainment factor. 

The film does raise some topics that can be pursued for discussion.  The contrast between destiny and fate provides an interesting outlook on the choices that we make and what simply happens to us.  Tweens and teens may compare this, albeit this is on a much more basic level, to the choices in the Harry Potter films or in the Star Wars universe.  Jupiter Jones lives in a less-than-perfect situation; however, she initially fails to appreciate what she does have.  The idea of making the most of what you have is very appropriate to tweens and teens as they are at a point in their lives where they often struggle with who they are and what their future might hold.  The theme of fate versus destiny in Jupiter Ascending can be compared to the choices made in Star Trek.

The film’s take on natural resources may also be of interest to tweens and teens.  The Abrasax family “harvests” planets’ populations when they exceed their ability to sustain themselves.  Although there is no political or social statement trying to be made in the film, tweens and teens may connect this to their own views of the world’s natural resources and our responsibility to them.  One character also states that “time is the single most precious commodity in the universe;” a statement that tweens and teens may have different views on than their parents.

Tweens and teens may also notice the director’s use of slow motion filming and the strong action related music.  Some tweens and teens may enjoy this while others may find it distracting.  Tweens and teens interested in film-making may wish to look at other film techniques, such as the use of 35 mm film in the 2014 Interstellar or the grand sweeping shots of The Hobbit:  Battle of the Five Armies.  Discussion of a filmmaker’s technique helps tweens and teens look at different ways of approaching visual arts.

Finally, the film has some very humorous scenes.  The contrast between Caine’s serious and focused personality and Jupiter’s fascination with the world creates some playful interaction.  The directors also have fun comparing the bureaucracy of space with that on our own planet.

Jupiter Ascending - Content Overview

Violence (High):  There is a great deal of science fiction fighting and hand-to-hand combat.  A girl is chased through a corn field and shot at.  Creatures are seen being tortured.  Space guns are used in the fighting.  A character is seen being shot into the void of space.

Scary Scenes (Medium): Human characters are seen turning back into alien creatures.  Some audience members may be frightened when a character falls from the sky after a ship is blown up; the character is rescued but there is a lot of tension.  Humans are seen having numerous needles stuck in them.  A character is seen being kept in a cage.

Sex/Nudity (Medium): There are some suggestive references to sex and a man is seen surrounded by a lot of girls in a suggestive way.  A character is seen in her underwear and men are seen shirtless.  There is a suggestive scene of a man’s bare backside.  A woman is seen rising out of a pool and her naked backside is seen.  A women gives birth, although nothing is seen.  Two characters are seen in a passionate kiss.

Drugs and Alcohol (Medium): Characters are seen drinking.

Language (Medium): There is a fair amount of conversational profanity.  The words “shit,” “damn,” “hell,” “crap,” and “bitch” are used multiple times.

Disrespectful/ Imitative Behavior (Medium): A character is bleeding and another character uses a tampon pad to staunch the blood flow from a torso wound.  A character disrespects his cousin when he encourages her to harvest her eggs.  A character says, “lies are necessary.”  A character is seen slapping another character.

Sad/ Unsettling Scenes (High): The film opens with thieves bursting into a home and killing a person.  It is very sudden and disconcerting.  A woman is seen on a doctor’s table as she is being prepared to have eggs removed.  A woman is surrounded by bees; the audience is unsure if they will harm her.

Movie Topics Kids Might Have Questions About: space, natural resources, honor, fate, destiny, profit, immigration

Check out a teen's perspective on Jupiter Ascending.