Netflix will be adding a ton of new movies and shows on July 1st, including the third season of its Korean fantasy thriller Kingdom as well as Steven Spielberg’s classic yet pretty difficult-to-watch period drama Schindler’s List. One of the most anticipated films to arrive on the streamer’s massive library, however, is a criminally underrated science fiction movie from 2012 called Cloud Atlas.
Directed by the Wachowski siblings – who, for the record, are the filmmakers that created the Matrix franchise – and based on the novel of the same name by David Mitchell, it stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Jim Broadbent, among many others, as the main faces of an ensemble cast whose confusing story is as entertaining as it is impressive.
Long story short, Cloud Atlas takes place in a world where souls reincarnate and the actions of their previous lives affect future ones. Hanks, Berry and an array of other actors star in interconnected vignettes that take place across time and space. As they form new relationships with old friends, their stories move from the Pacific Islands to rural England to San Francisco and numerous other places.
Here’s the kicker, though. When the story begins, we find ourselves in the late nineteenth century. By the time it ends, however, we’re in the year 2321. The immense time span that the script covers is not only a testament to the versatility of the actors, but the imagination of their directors.
Over two decades since its release, The Matrix is still lauded as one of the best action movies of all time, and is admired as much for its tightly written script as it is for its sprawling and inventive world design. And when it comes to Wachowski movies, Cloud Atlas is certainly up there and presents viewers with a dazzling and often breathtaking ride, one that’s full of big ideas and tons to enjoy.