Upside Down (2013)
Average Rating: 4.8/10
Reviews Counted: 45
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 32
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 15
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 5,202
My Rating
Movie Info
Ever since Adam (Jim Sturgess) and Eden (Kirsten Dunst) fell in love as teens, their bond has faced astronomical odds. The pair are separated not just by social class and a political system bent on keeping them apart, but also by a freak planetary condition: they live on twinned worlds with gravities that pull in opposite directions-he on the poverty-stricken planet below, she on the wealthy, exploitative world above. Their budding but illicit romance screeches to a tragic halt when
Cast
-
Kirsten Dunst
Eden -
Jim Sturgess
Adam -
Timothy Spall
Bob
ADVERTISEMENT
Upside Down Trailer & Photos
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (32)
Soon enough the worlds of Up Top and Down Below feel like distractions, CGI Potemkin villages.
Top CriticA Romeo and Juliet story for the age of CGI overkill, Upside Down zigs where it should zag and dulls where it should dazzle.
Absent any emotional grounding, the film is a gorgeous, sterile construction, like a dream city unoccupied by humans.
Simply put, this is one of the craziest films to come along in a while and I can confidently say that anyone who sees it will either hail it is some kind of crackpot masterpiece or dismiss it as one of the silliest damn things they've ever seen.
It doesn't really develop its story, or its themes. It doesn't truly draw out its characters. It evokes no serious emotions. It has - in the end - no gravity.
"Upside Down" is such a gorgeous wreck that I could almost sense Terry Gilliam somewhere muttering, "Wait a minute, I should have been the one to screw up this idea."
A movie that will surely wow audiences with its awesome visuals but floor them with its terrible storytelling.
Dunst, a veteran of the famous upside-down Spider-Man kiss, may be used to this, but viewers of the fantasy romance Upside Down may have the dizzy feeling of blood rushing to their heads. What is going on here and, furthermore, why?
There is little consistency. As a creator, you cannot tell us one thing and have characters do another without consequence. Upside Down is plagued with those problems, at least in small ways. It is frustrating for the viewer.
What begins as a grand concept full of unusual possibilities quickly succumbs to a frustrating mixture of pretentiousness and torpor in this threadbare narrative that unfolds in perpetual pursuit of memorable images over narrative sense.
The eye-rolling script is heavy-handed and emotionally distant, sort of like its intergalactic setting.
Riddled with cliches and eye-rollers, Upside Down is more down than upside.
What if I told you that the film also includes scenes of upward urination and consumption of flying pink pancakes? Now will you help it break the $30,000 [box office] mark?
A stunning visual experience spoiled by a trainwreck of a screenplay...certainly something to see, but difficult to sit through.
Upside Down falls into that old trap of overwhelming us with spectacle before we spot the emptiness beneath.
Worth a look if only for the Caspar David Friedrich-inspired imagery and shots of Timothy Spall's teeth.
Writer-director Juan Solanas is a better photographer than writer or director.
Director Juan Solanas has produced such an immense cinematic vision that the flaws ultimately don't matter.
...may be a treat for the eyes, but you'll probably be rolling them throughout most of its running time.
Audience Reviews for Upside Down
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Upside Down yet.
Latest News on Upside Down
March 15, 2013:
Critics Consensus: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is Short on Razzle DazzleThis week at the movies, we've got dueling magicians (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, starring...
March 14, 2013:
Video Interviews with Jim Sturgess & Kirsten Dunst of Upside DownJim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst star in Juan Solanas' visually stunning film Upside Down in theaters...
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Trailer for new Coen Bros movie
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 25
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 6
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
- Digital Multiplex: Warm Bodies and Aftershock 8
- Discover the Best-Reviewed Films in Summer Movie Scorecard 2013 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects 17
Top Headlines
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
-
10 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About the Hangover Movies
1
-
Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer Talk Man of Steel
0
-
New Transporter Trilogy in the Works
0
-
Richard Linklater Plans "Spiritual Sequel" to Dazed and Confused
0
-
King of Kong Filmmaker Seeks Funding for Lost Limb Documentary
0
-
Which Film Franchise Has Been the Best for Female Characters?
6
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- Un amor entre dos mundos (ES)
Good movie! "Upside Down" has a great idea that should have been a lot better than it ended up being. The film's setting is magnificently beautiful, there are a lot of stunning ideas and images and the main story is good enough to make the two-planet world look real. The one and the only one flaw of the film is that it pretends to be a sci-fi film rather than a fairy-tale in an unusual setting. If you judge it as a sci-fi you will find a lot of "how could it be" things that tear the imaginary world apart. However, it's obvious the filmmakers were more interested in focusing on the visuals than actually telling a good story. "Upside Down" proves that as awesome as visuals can be, it can't overshadow incompetent storytelling and a weak plot. I can't say i'd recommend it but it's worth a watch!
Adam is a seemingly ordinary guy in a very extraordinary universe. He lives humbly trying to make ends meet, but his romantic spirit holds on to the memory of a girl he loved once upon a time from another world, an inverted affluent world with its own gravity, directly above but beyond reach... a girl named Eden. Their childhood flirtation becomes an impossible love. But when he catches a glimpse of grownup Eden on television, nothing will get in the way of getting her back... Not even the law or science!