The new film from the Wachowskis comes mired in delays and mixed reviews. Suddenly shifted from a Summer 2014 release to early this year is never the best sign as far as studio confidence is concerned, though they assured cinemagoers it was to complete the complicated visual effects. Additionally since humongous success with The Matrix - and diminishing returns with the sequels - the siblings have found themselves producing ambitious, yet maligned, flops.


Personally, their last film Cloud Atlas (co-directed with Tom Tykwer) was a triumph of romantic folly, a multi-stranded, genre-flitting sci-fi fantasy spectacular produced independently that had the audacious confidence to attempt to play with notions of interconnectivity by having actors play various genders and ethnicities.


Whilst not enough to make me want to reassess my disappointment with The Matrix sequels, I did decide to give Speed Racer - their adaptation of a Japanese anime - a look and I found a giddy, bright, heart-felt feature unlike anything else.


So, to say I was perhaps somewhat over-excited about Jupiter Ascending might be an understatement, and maybe not a good expectation to place upon a film. Cloud Atlas and Speed Racer both surprised me, confounding the negative-buzz I'd heard about them both, which - for me - then set the bar high when poor word of mouth began coming from advanced screenings of their latest film. If people hated those two movies and I loved them, then it follows that if they hate this one I'll love it too.


Well, that's not entirely true unfortunately.


Jupiter Ascending tells the story of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who - in a sweet and emotional prologue - is born at sea when her mother leaves Russia to pursue a new life in America. Jupiter grows up to complacently accept a disappointing life working as a cleaner, deciding to raise some extra cash by selling her eggs to a clinic.


However the procedure takes an alarming twist when she's rescued by a Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) from the doctors who were actually aliens in disguise. He whisks her off via aerial chases into an adventure in which Jupiter discovers she's essentially the "reincarnation" of the matriarch of a dynasty of privileged intergalactic capitalists, and her presence jeopardises their claim to Earth.


Jupiter finds herself taking on all this whilst each of her new pseudo-relatives tries to exploit her position for their own ends. Whether it's the pleasantly spiteful machinations of Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), the sleazy, treacherous charms of Titus (Douglas Booth) or the spoilt, psychotic whining of Balem (Eddie Redmayne), there's a wealth of fun to be had as each brat tries to get their way.


Whilst this consistently presents occasions for Caine and his anti-gravity space boots to come to Jupiter's rescue, it's also vital to note that Jupiter develops her own strength as the film continues, and not in the reductive way of making a female character into a "strong woman" by having her just fire guns and punch goons with the guys, because that's not who she is - though when pushed she won't back down from a fight. Instead Jupiter controls her destiny in a different fashion to, say, Neo from The Matrix, one that is more satisfying than another shoot out or fisticuffs (though you do get plenty of that too).


There are a great deal of ideas bubbling away in Jupiter Ascending, and plenty to recommend beyond its stunning design. Though it also manages to be a little repetitive when it comes to action sequences and doesn't quite deliver enough of an emotional finale to really rouse an audience, preferring to attempt something a little more subtle.


It also mashes together a wealth of influences, with allusions to Flash Gordon, The Dark Crystal, and - most blatantly - Terry Gilliam's Brazil (including a 27b/6 and an appreciative cameo). Whilst, much like the similarly hodge-podged The Fifth Element, it can't quite reach beyond the sum of its parts, it is nevertheless a bold, bonkers, occasionally brilliant space opera with the kind of grand scope and imagination that most contemporary big-budget film making undoubtedly lacks.


Whilst other, slicker, films will see immediate return on their investment, it's not hard to imagine that Jupiter Ascending will be a long cherished space oddity when the big hitters have faded into obscurity.