Megalopolis

Megalopolis is hard to recommend, but I do respect the ambition. The best thing about the movie is that it feels like Francis Ford Coppola swinging for something enormous. It is messy, strange, philosophical, theatrical, political, romantic, and completely uninterested in playing like a normal modern blockbuster. Even when it does not work, there is something interesting about watching a filmmaker chase such a massive personal vision.

Adam Driver gives the film its strongest performance as Cesar Catilina. He brings a mix of genius, arrogance, grief, idealism, and madness to the role. Driver plays him like someone who might be a visionary, a fraud, a prophet, or all three at once, and his commitment helps hold the movie together when the story drifts into abstraction. He gives the film some needed emotional and intellectual weight, even when the material around him is uneven.

The visual imagination is another strength. The futuristic city, Roman-influenced design, gold lighting, massive architecture, parties, costumes, and surreal imagery all give Megalopolis a distinct identity. It does not look or feel like a safe studio product, which is part of what makes it interesting. I also appreciate that the movie is trying to wrestle with real questions about civilization, progress, broken institutions, and whether visionaries are dangerous or necessary.

The issue is that the ideas are stronger than the actual narrative. Characters, politics, romance, satire, and philosophy all compete for space, and the result often feels more like a manifesto than a fully satisfying story. Coppola’s writing and direction lean into theatrical dialogue, but too much of it comes across as stiff instead of powerful. There are also several poor performances, with Aubrey Plaza’s Wow Platinum standing out in a distracting way. Megalopolis is bold, original, and visually distinct, but it is also messy, frustrating, and hard to sit through.