Cloud Atlas (2012)

Hugo Weaving shows up in Cloud Atlas as a tyrant of a care home nurse, and that’s one of the subtler makeup jobs. The Neo Seoul chapter, with non-Asian actors in prosthetic eyelids, is the worst call in the movie, and it has aged badly. The structure is a lot, too: 172 minutes of cutting between centuries every few minutes, like a playlist stuck on shuffle. Some of the stories are great. Jim Broadbent’s escape from a care home is the funniest, Ben Whishaw’s young composer is the most heartbreaking, and Doona Bae gives the sci-fi chapter a calm, steady center. Tom Hanks clearly raided the dress-up box, especially as a gangster novelist who settles a bad review in the worst way possible. It made $130.5 million worldwide on a reported budget somewhere between $100 million and $146.7 million. A 6.7 because the ambition is huge and sincere, and the patchwork shows its stitches. $9,488 says you stay for the end credits that line up every actor’s roles and gasp out loud at least once.

What works: Jim Broadbent’s care home breakout and Ben Whishaw’s composer story are terrific, and the swing for the fences is genuinely moving when the stories line up.

What doesn’t: The makeup gimmick misfires badly in the Neo Seoul chapter, and 172 minutes of constant cutting between six stories wears you out.

Who it’s for: Patient viewers who like big, messy ideas and don’t mind keeping six stories straight without a notepad.