Review of Upside Down (2012) by Christina H — 23 Mar 2014

On the one hand, this movie is sometimes silly, often downright sappy. The story is broadly predictable, plot points get resolved too easily, the characters are two-dimensional, the acting doesn't really get beyond surface appeal, and the voiceover narration that opens and closes the movie is honestly kind of cringeworthy. And yet, this is also a genuinely ambitious, imaginative, beautiful movie that uses its tons of special effects and CGI to show you things you've genuinely never seen in a movie before, and might not see again. I think that makes it worth a watch, even if it's not going to end up being a classic by any means.

The story is basically a sci-fi twist on Romeo and Juliet: mismatched lovers want to be together, but are kept apart by the fact that they live on different but directly adjacent planets. The planets are so close to each other that it's possible to build a skyscraper that connects them. However, people are only subject to the gravity of the planet they were born on, and thus cannot reach the other planet except through complicated contrivances. In addition to the physical problem, there are social and economic ones - one planet is rich and haughty, while the other lives in Dickensian poverty. But will this keep our two lovers, played by Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess, apart?

It's a great idea, and as far as the settings are concerned the movie does quite well. The crystal-clear, color-enhanced cinematography and the lovingly created CGI worlds do look great, and there are a few seemingly practical special-effects shots that did actually make me wonder how they were accomplished. Even if I don't remember the story or characters particularly well in a few weeks, I'll remember the image of the twin planets. Many movies use CGI just to destroy worlds (Man of Steel) - it's nice to see one that uses it to create them.