Megalopolis

Grade: D

Francis Ford Coppola doesn’t have a consistent, unblemished track record as a director, but he is behind at least a couple of what are considered the greatest movies ever. But lest we forget, the director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now also did Jack. I’d include his Dracula in the latter list as well. Though it was loved by many, it’s one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. The one time I watched it, I made fun of it, Mystery Science Theater 3000 style. His Megalopolis is a late-career cinematic vomit. It’s a disastrous mess.

It takes place in a “utopian future” – as if that cliched phrase needed to be repeated – in a city called New Rome, obviously standing in for New York City. Adam Driver stars as Cesar, an architect who has plans to build a little city within the city. He would call it Megalopolis, as it will be made entirely out of a magical substance called Megalon. Meanwhile, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), the mayor of New Rome, would like to build a series of traditional casinos and hotels on that same site.

I optimistically thought “ok, looks like we’re going to get a running point-counterpoint rivalry.” It would be one thing if it was “I don’t like what you plan to do, because I want to do THIS.” Instead, it turns into “I don’t like what you plan to do, and I want to stop you.” We hear about the mayor’s vision for the land once, then never again. After that, Esposito’s character seems to exist solely for the purpose of opposing Driver’s plans. A wrench is thrown into the plot when Cicero’s daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones, Arthur the King, and The Invitation) eases into a romance, and eventually a marriage, with Cesar.

Coppola can’t seem to stick to one, or even a few storylines. Megalopolis frequently veers off into surreal, drug-trippy filmmaking. It feels like the rest of the large talented cast (that includes Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, and Dustin Hoffman) is only there to be able to say they worked on a Coppola project. Most of them have very little to do. I was hoping the stars of Midnight Cowboy would share some screen time again after 55 years, but unfortunately, Voight and Hoffman never interact here. The director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now also did Jack, and Megalopolis.

Grade: D