Cloud Atlas

Play trailer

Cloud Atlas

R

2012

2h 52m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

288 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Actors (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent) take on multiple roles in an epic that spans five centuries. An attorney harbors a fleeing slave on a voyage from the Pacific Islands in 1849; a poor composer in pre-World War II Britain struggles to finish his magnum opus before a past act catches up with him; a genetically engineered worker in 2144 feels the forbidden stirring of human consciousness -- and so on. As souls are born and reborn, they renew their bonds to one another throughout time.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Its sprawling, ambitious blend of thought-provoking narrative and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the sheer size and scope of Cloud Atlas are all but impossible to ignore.

Read Critics Reviews

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Mar 23, 2022

3.5/4

I was hypnotized by Cloud Atlas.

Go to Full Review

Brandy Howard

Autostraddle

Aug 31, 2021

[There's'] far too many actors in this town to have to bother paying Tom Hanks $100,000,000 and putting him in nine hundred scenes as different ethnicities and races.

Go to Full Review

Julie Goldman

Bitch Media

Aug 31, 2021

There were so many prosthetic noses.

Go to Full Review

Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

Jul 14, 2026

2/5

This film ambitiously attempts to show a karmic cycle, the application of the Golden Rule in seven different stories, yet the movie does seem to reflect a troubling racist bias.

Go to Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Dec 28, 2025

3.5/5

Cloud Atlas remains an ambitious, cast-driven epic whose scope impresses even when its structure overwhelms.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Dec 20, 2025

3/4

The problem with many films offering multiple storylines is that interest ebbs and flows as the picture moves from one saga to the next. Cloud Atlas is unique in that all six stories are accorded equal weight and manage to maintain interest.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Robert P

@Superbad 3 days ago

Cloud Atlas = a 3.5 star Movie!

See more

Daniel T

@daniel.tison Aug 29, 2026

Everything is connected and every little action has an impact echoing far in the future.

See more

Ravinder S

@FlyingSkeleton Aug 15, 2026

Great acting. Jumping every 30 seconds to a different timeline was a bit comfusing at first but perplexing throughout nonetheless. Not quite sure what the great reveal or what the point was in the end.

See more

Sergio A. G

@RT95532440 Jul 22, 2026

The second time I watched it I could get the whole plot, still one of my favorite movies. It’s a sci-fi love story if you’d ask me.

See more

Duan A

@RT86182278 Jul 12, 2026

Interesting ways to connect different stories, not boring, but not a must

See more

Brian M

@RT47534193 Jul 7, 2026

Demands your attention which for some viewers may be a challenge. In spite of some less than convincing race and gender altering makeup, the actors do manage to thoroughly inhabit each character. In spite of its flaws it rewards the viewer with new revelations upon repeat viewing.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Lana Wachowski

Director

Lilly Wachowski

Director

Tom Tykwer

Director

Tom Hanks

Zachry

Halle Berry

Luisa Rey

Jim Broadbent

Timothy Cavendish

The Road

74%

68%

The Road

Watchlist

Ex Machina

92%

86%

Ex Machina

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Ex Machina

Approaching the Unknown

47%

16%

Approaching the Unknown

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Approaching the Unknown

Anna

32%

38%

Anna

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Know Your Critic: Robert Daniels, Freelance Film Critic

The Matrix Trilogy, Bad Santa, Chef, and More on Netflix and Amazon Prime This Week

Match the Tom Hanks Movie Review Quotes!

View more photos

Synopsis

Actors (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent) take on multiple roles in an epic that spans five centuries. An attorney harbors a fleeing slave on a voyage from the Pacific Islands in 1849; a poor composer in pre-World War II Britain struggles to finish his magnum opus before a past act catches up with him; a genetically engineered worker in 2144 feels the forbidden stirring of human consciousness -- and so on. As souls are born and reborn, they renew their bonds to one another throughout time.

Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Producer: Grant Hill, Stefan Arndt, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski
Screenwriter: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: X-Filme Creative Pool, Cloud Atlas Production, Anarchos Productions Inc.
Rating: R (Sexuality/Nudity|Language|Some Drug Use|Violence)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 26, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $27.1M
Runtime: 2h 52m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby A, DTS

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings