Bilge Ebiri of Vulture called “Megalopolis” “absolute madness” and “the strangest movie he has ever seen.” “There is nothing in 'Megalopolis' that we have seen before in 'ordinary' films. It has its own logic, rhythm and language.”
“As long as there are people in the world who love engaged cinema and reflect on the last 6,000 years of our civilization, this film will have its audience,” wrote David Fear of Rolling Stone.
David Ehrlich of Indiewire wrote on Platform As he admitted, he is a huge fan of this film.
“I was delighted with 'Megalopolis' with all its exaggerated ambitions. Only an unsympathetic viewer would call it a disaster. It's certainly not boring,” said Joshu Rothkopf of the Los Angeles Times.
In a review for the Daily Telegraph, we read that “Megalopolis” resembles a cross between the TV series “Succession”, “Batman Forever” and a lava lamp. Aubrey Plaza's role is also praised.
However, not everyone was impressed with the film. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw described “Megalopolis” as “mega-bloated and mega-boring”. “A passion project devoid of passion, (…) a surprisingly shallow film, full of high school truths about the future of humanity.”
Tim Grierson of Screen Daily called it a “disaster”. “It's a lifetime's work gone terribly wrong,” wrote Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson. According to him, a few people will appreciate Coppola's work, but most viewers will be scratching their heads and wondering what it's all about. “The trashiest of trash films, many incompatible Coppola inspirations stuck together by force. What's really surprising is how outdated the production is.”
“It's 138 mind-numbing minutes full of ill-conceived themes, unfinished scenes, performances as irritating as nails on a chalkboard, word salad dialogues and ugly images, all in search of a story that isn't there” – Kevin Maher of the Times is also not a fan movie.
David Rooney from the Hollywood Reporter said that “Megalopolis” is not a good movie, but you can't ignore it. “I can't say that I was engaged throughout the two-hour session, but I was always curious about the direction it would all go.”
“Megalopolis” is a life project Francis Ford Coppola. The director has been working on it for the last few decades. A huge obstacle to the start of production were financial problems, which were solved in an unconventional way. Coppola, instead of looking for people who would put money into this film, ultimately decided to finance the production with his own funds.
Plot details are being kept secret. According to unconfirmed rumors, the story is to depict a futuristic society based on the Roman Empire, which is facing the consequences of a huge catastrophe. The main character will be Caesar (played by Adam Driver), an architect who must reconcile his idealism with the requirements of the authorities.
Coppola also wrote the screenplay for “Megalopolis”. The film's budget was approximately $120 million. Apart from Driver, the production starred: Nathalie Emmanuel, Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Laurence FishbourneAubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason SchwartzmanGiancarlo Esposito and Dustin Hoffman.