It’s one of the biggest cinematic failures of the year. It doesn’t matter that the name of the director behind the project is that of one of the most renowned filmmakers. Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi epic, cost between $120 million and $136 million – financed in part by Coppola himself – and grossed just over $13 million in the world. The commercial aspect is inherent in any film, but the fact that a film does not live up to its budget does not make it a bad film. Even if Megalopolis did not appeal to critics either. According to spectators, it is even one of the worst science fiction films of the 21st century.
In any case, cinema is a matter of taste and Francis Ford Coppola’s film also has its defenders. One of them is the legendary director Oliver Stone, best known for titles such as Wall Street (1987) or Born killers (1994). He gave his opinion on Megalopolis on Facebook.
Oliver Stone defends Megalopolis
“Megalopolis by Francis Coppola (2024). Don’t care if it’s your nature, but I deeply admire his commitment to his vision. On a visual level, it’s one stunning scene after another – beyond his Apocalypse (Now) or his exotic Coup de Coeur, and the main character (Adam Driver) has the heart of Tucker (from the eponymous film – Editor’s note)” he said.
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“As a story, many have criticized the film, and I can’t say I followed it completely, but enough to want to watch it again, because I believe Francis was sincere in his exploration of the future, which is au- beyond what our society still does not understand – that we can have an altruistic society“, added the director.
Megalopolis stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito and Nathalie Emmanuel. The story takes place in a destroyed New York. César is an architect who wants to rebuild the city and make it a utopia.
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Oliver Stone is not the only director to have defended Megalopolis : Guillermo del Toro, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee and Spike Jonze have all publicly expressed their admiration for Francis Ford Coppola’s proposal.
Article written in collaboration with our colleagues from I love cinema.
