Despite mixed reviews from critics, Francis Ford Coppola gives his own Megalopolis a perfect grade. Marking a major passion project for Coppola, the self-funded epic stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina, an architect who attempts to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a major disaster. Featuring a stacked cast that includes Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmaneul, and Aubrey Plaza, among others, Megalopolis premiered to mixed reviews from critics at Cannes earlier this year, and had a similar reception at TIFF.
Though it currently sits at a lackluster 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, Coppola now awards Megalopolis a 5-star review on Letterboxd, a popular movie tracking and rating platform. The film, as seen in the screenshot below, is included in the director’s last five movies watched list, which also includes a five-star rating for The Last Showgirl (2024), a film directed by his granddaughter, Gia Coppola. The senior Coppola also gives both movies a heart, a way to show appreciate for a film that is separate from a star rating.
What Coppola’s Letterboxd Megalopolis Review Means For The Film
Coppola Has Invested A Lot In His New Movie
Megalopolis‘ reception thus far has been polarizing, to say the least. Reviews range from panning the film as a self-indulgent mess to proclaiming it a masterpiece. Some reviews that sit more in the middle ground acknowledge and appreciate just how out-there and ambitious the project is, even if it doesn’t totally come together in the end. The film’s ratings distribution on Letterboxd is, as a result, all over the map. For his part, however, Coppola is clearly happy with how Megalopolis turned out.
Coppola largely self-funded Megalopolis‘ $120 million budget, and he evidently believes he’s used this money to create a masterpiece. What’s not yet clear is whether the film has any commercial appeal. From what’s been revealed thus far in reviews and trailers, the film could prove to be too odd for the general movie-going public to embrace. Coppola’s own perfect rating for the film follows a series of controversies for Megalopolis, which have involved casting, the firing of the film’s entire VFX team, behind-the-scenes harassment claims, and a trailer featuring fabricated AI quotes from critics.
Megalopolis‘ casting of figures like LaBeouf and Jon Voight has also been controversial, since the former has been involved in a sexual assault lawsuit and the former is a passionate and very vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Our Take On Coppola’s 5-Star Megalopolis Review
Why The Film Is Worth Celebrating
However uncouth it may seem for Coppola to give his own film a perfect rating, it would be just as odd if he gave it any other score. Such a catch-22 is probably why not many filmmakers rank or rate their own movies on Letterboxd or any other platform.
Coppola has put a lot of time and money into bringing Megalopolis to life, and even if it underperforms at the box office, which is looking likely, it’s worth celebrating that such an iconic filmmaker is happy with what could end up being one of his final films. What’s more, in an age of reboots and sequels, it’s refreshing that Coppola is so passionately pushing out a wholly original creation into the world.
Source: Letterboxed
