Ultra-high concept which goes to waste thanks to a lackluster plot and thin characterization.
Love. It's a topic that inspires us to do great things, and imagine fantastical fancies. When done correctly (and with a clear head), one can come up with a coherent product - something that can hold up to the test of time, no matter how many times it's been told. Sadly, Upside Down isn't part of it.
It had everything going for it - an opening narration outlining a very interesting concept that completely engages the viewer and has them in a vice-like choke-hold... until the movie decides to just slum through the whole plot and crawl its way to the end. One has to admire how much faith the director and his actors have in such a low-quality story, and their passion for still coming up with the best possible movie they can do with what they have is evident on-screen. Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst do what they can with such thinly-written characters, and Timothy Spall shines on-screen in a criminally underwritten and utterly wasted role.
Juan Diego Solanas does his best in crafting a radical retelling of an age-old concept, and while he succeeds in most parts, he mostly ends up failing.
The movie shines its brightest when held under a technical microscope. The dazzling visuals and crisp camerawork are the only things that seem to hold this sinking ship up, but then again, they can only do so much.
This movie feels so incomplete, that one has to imagine the heights this movie could've reached had it been fully fleshed out. In the end, we're only left with what could've been, instead of what should've become.
RATING: ** 1/2
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