In a 12 months that features a new Deadpool outing, George Miller’s return to the Fury Street, and a Dune sequel, it’s saying one thing that for a lot of, essentially the most anticipated film of 2024 – and the one with the largest query mark round it – is Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Incomes his place within the pantheon of cinema’s best administrators with Apocalypse Now, the Godfather films and extra, Coppola is an auteur whose return deserves our consideration. However together with his comeback movie having been gestating for many years, to not point out requiring Coppola to shell out tens of millions of his personal {dollars} for the manufacturing, it calls for it.

Set in a Roman Empire-inspired reimagining of New York Metropolis, Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catalina, an architect with physics-defying powers and desires of constructing a utopian society. That dream sees him conflict with the town’s Mayor, Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who’s made much more sad when Cesar grows nearer to his daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel). Premiering on the Cannes Movie Pageant this week, it’s confirmed divisive amongst critics. However one factor’s for certain – as Empire witnessed earlier this week, it delivers some mighty massive inventive swings.

1) The bonkers ancient-future-sci-fi setting

Megalopolis is about in New Rome within the twenty first century, and the Roman affect is evident, in every thing from character names to the environment. The splendid costumes embody toga-style clothes, golden wreath jewelry and gladiator sandals. There’s chariot racing. There’s a colosseum (although right here, it’s a stadium-sized leisure venue.) However there are additionally components of Nineteen Twenties Artwork Deco, fashionable ultra-invasive capitalism, Nineteenth-century circus aesthetics, old-school Hollywood glamour, futuristic constructions and extra, the decadence all realised in super-high-definition.

2) The literature post-grad dialogue

As out-there as Megalopolis’ visuals are, its dialogue may be even trickier to wrap your head round. It flits between Shakespearean rhythms and Marcus Aurelius quotes, lofty musings on society and energy, Instagrammable mantras, blunt vulgarity and childlike exposition, becoming with the movie’s ‘throw every thing on the wall’ vibe.

3) The X Issue-esque musical quantity

Megalopolis continually throws you into new settings and eventualities – however one of the crucial sudden developments is the musical efficiency in the midst of it. It’s not a song-and-dance quantity, precisely – extra an X Issue-style rendition, designed to highlight a star and arrange a scandal. We received’t spoil the main points, however the sequence manages to channel actuality TV, chastity tradition, deepfake expertise, and Gossip Lady, multi functional go.

4) The actual-life interruption

Usually, if a man walks on stage with a microphone two-thirds of the best way by a movie screening, you’d assume that one thing has gone awry. In Megalopolis’ case, although, it’s totally intentional. Confusion and amusement rippled by the Cannes viewers as a suited man stepped right into a highlight within the cinema, as a press-conference scene performed out on the display screen, to ask Cesar a query. The architect responds to it, earlier than the movie carries on as regular. (Effectively, as near regular as Megalopolis will get.) Will this immersive second be replicated on the movie’s launch? Might your native Cineworld usher be recruited to lug a mic stand out in entrance of the display screen, evening after evening? Who is aware of.

5) The overwhelming ambition

Given it took Coppola over 4 a long time and $120 million of his personal cash to make, it’s not stunning that the size, imaginative and prescient and experimental nature of Megalopolis is big, and in contrast to something we’ve seen from the filmmaker earlier than. It is a film about energy, authorities, local weather, tradition, intercourse, romance, wealth, society, and many extra in addition to. It’s a couple of man – a sophisticated man, dropped at life in a sophisticated manner – who desires of a greater future for the world and the town wherein he lives. It’s about seeing time; about stopping it and beginning it once more. Regardless of the end result, there’s no denying Megalopolis’ sheer boldness, and its director’s drive to discover the boundaries of cinema. Strap in, of us – it’s a wild trip.

Megalopolis involves UK cinemas later this 12 months. We expect.