I think what bothers me the most about a lot of the negative press surrounding Jupiter Ascending is that we’re basically busting on it for not being for boys.
Sure, the film has problems - I’m not denying that. But a lot of the story-based criticisms revolve around the notion that it does a poor job of articulating the standard Chosen Hero narrative, when the fact of the matter is that it’s not meant to be a Chosen Hero story. It’s meant to be a Secret Princess story - you know, the one where the heroine has a terrible life until a handsome knight (who’s totally scary at first, but kind and brave at heart) appears and tells her that this isn’t how it’s meant to be, that she’s actually the lost princess of some far-off land, and that he’s come to take her home.
And you know what the thing about the Secret Princess narrative is? It’s every bit the adolescent power fantasy that the Chosen Hero narrative is - it’s just one that’s historically been much more popular among girls than it is among boys. And I think that’s the crux of why it’s been so widely misidentified: hundred-million-dollar action blockbusters based on specifically girl-directed power fantasies do not happen. In fact, I’m having trouble thinking of any action film founded in the Secret Princess narrative before Jupiter Ascending came along, big-budget or otherwise.
A lot of the popular criticisms fall apart when you look at it through that lens. Jupiter “lacks agency” because she doesn’t fight? Of course she doesn’t fight. The Princess doesn’t get her hands dirty in battle if it can be avoided; that’s what her knight is for. She’s got bigger things to worry about: the fate of nations - or, in this case, of worlds - rests in her hands. And does Jupiter Jones acquit herself well in this arena? You’re darn right she does. The only way you can argue that she “lacks agency” is if you presume that the only decisions that count are those that are enacted by personally hitting somebody in the face. Which would be true, if this were a Chosen Hero story - but it isn’t.
Basically, at this point we’re not criticising the film for how it tells its story: we’re criticising it for the kind of story it’s telling. Certain types of stories are regarded as intrinsically unworthy of cinematic attention - and isn’t it funny how virtually all stories aimed at girls fall into that category? Certainly, Jupiter Ascending is by no means above reproach - but we can’t even talk about what it does right or wrong as a film, because we’re stuck on arguing about whether it has any right to exist as a film in the first place.
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