Cloud Atlas

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Cloud Atlas

R

Released Oct 26, 2012

2h 52m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

286 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Actors (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent) take on multiple roles in an epic that spans five centuries. An attorney harbors a fleeing slave on a voyage from the Pacific Islands in 1849; a poor composer in pre-World War II Britain struggles to finish his magnum opus before a past act catches up with him; a genetically engineered worker in 2144 feels the forbidden stirring of human consciousness -- and so on. As souls are born and reborn, they renew their bonds to one another throughout time.

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Critics Consensus

Its sprawling, ambitious blend of thought-provoking narrative and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the sheer size and scope of Cloud Atlas are all but impossible to ignore.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

I was hypnotized by Cloud Atlas.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 23, 2022

Full Review

Brandy Howard

Autostraddle

[There's'] far too many actors in this town to have to bother paying Tom Hanks $100,000,000 and putting him in nine hundred scenes as different ethnicities and races.

Aug 31, 2021

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Julie Goldman

Bitch Media

There were so many prosthetic noses.

Aug 31, 2021

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Michael Cuby

them.

Cloud Atlas tells a huge story in ways that often felt personal and small.

Oct 3, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Cloud Atlas will confound and maybe even aggravate some unwilling to, quite simply, “go with the flow.” But others will find what few have: a bold, technically awesome, and thematically enduring picture whose arrangement and ambition are unprecedented.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 21, 2022

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

It’s a highly ambitious picture that pulls off an incredibly clever storytelling technique. But it could also be viewed as a three-hour grind that features many of the Wachowski’s familiar self-indulgences.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 19, 2022

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Mark W

When talking about movies that have different interconnected stories, I always find it useful to isolate each story and ask myself if it would be a good story if presented by itself. If the answer is no, then it’s not a good movie no matter how clever or ambitious the interconnected gimmick is. Individually, the Cloud Atlas stories are emotionally inert and too scattered for the audience to get invested in anyone. I’m not opposed to films that try to make you think, but the vehicle for that should be good stories and interesting characters. If the film doesn’t have them, then it just becomes a boring intellectual exercise that treats its characters like props to serve as mouthpieces for some big point the author is making. Skip Cloud Atlas and watch 2001: a Space Odyssey instead.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/06/25

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Gareth v

A visually striking but ultimately confusing film that tries to do too much and loses emotional focus along the way.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/11/25

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Jair K

Gorgeous, mind-blowingly clever and fascinating. Lots of moving pieces, but it's worth the thought and the study.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/10/25

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Mario S

A long movie with boring plot & bad make-up.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/06/25

Full Review

Jonathan M

Absolutely astounding film. Not one to be watched without the mind being fully engaged. So many levels of nuance, ideas, concepts, layer upon layer of intrigue. I've seen it at least half a dozen times and it still reveals new facets each time. The acting, the score, the dialogue...superb.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/20/25

Full Review

Shane G

My favourite movie I've ever watched! To be fair, it isn't going to be for everyone. It's long, and it requires your full attention for the entire runtime. If you're scrolling through social media/texting/etc. you're going to miss many key points. If you can put the phone down, there should be something in it for everyone. It's often fast-paced, bouncing between 6 different stories in 6 different timelines that are all interconnected so beautifully. There's a mix of many genres with sci-fi, murder mystery thriller, comedy, period piece, romance, etc. Most main actors play at least 4 different characters who are reborn in the different timelines. The acting is brilliant, and it's so amazing to see the work the makeup and costume teams did. I've watched the movie at least 10 times and love it more with every watch. Don't let the lukewarm reviews dissuade you, it deserves a chance!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/08/25

Full Review

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Lana Wachowski

Director

Lilly Wachowski

Director

Tom Tykwer

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Tom Hanks

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Synopsis

Actors (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent) take on multiple roles in an epic that spans five centuries. An attorney harbors a fleeing slave on a voyage from the Pacific Islands in 1849; a poor composer in pre-World War II Britain struggles to finish his magnum opus before a past act catches up with him; a genetically engineered worker in 2144 feels the forbidden stirring of human consciousness -- and so on. As souls are born and reborn, they renew their bonds to one another throughout time.

Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Producer: Grant Hill, Stefan Arndt, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski
Screenwriter: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: X-Filme Creative Pool, Cloud Atlas Production, Anarchos Productions Inc.
Rating: R (Sexuality/Nudity|Language|Some Drug Use|Violence)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 26, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $27.1M
Runtime: 2h 52m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby A, DTS

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