Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is an incoherent, ego-driven misfire. The movie, funded by Coppola’s fortune from winemaking, is a jumbled mix of over-the-top visuals, bizarre choices, and a storyline that lacks clarity. In Megalopolis, Coppola portrays a near-future America as a modern-day Rome, complete with togas, Caesar cuts, and clichéd references to Ancient Rome. Adam Driver, the lead, plays Cesar Catilina, an architect who inexplicably gains the power to stop time, and engages in an incoherent rivalry with the city’s mayor, played by Giancarlo Esposito.
Despite its big-name cast—Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Dustin Hoffman among others—Megalopolis fails to deliver any substance. The film is riddled with awkward dialogue, underdeveloped characters, and outlandish plot points that seem to exist purely for shock value. Visual effects are subpar, with virtual sets and props that feel amateurish despite the film’s massive $120 million budget.
Coppola’s attempt to create an artistic statement falls flat, and the movie comes off as a self-indulgent vanity project rather than a masterpiece. For long-time fans of Coppola, Megalopolis is a painful reminder that the director’s golden years are well behind him. It’s a film that will likely live in infamy, not as a groundbreaking work, but as an overambitious disaster.
In short: Megalopolis is an artistic failure that neither justifies its ambition nor respects its audience’s time. Avoid it at all costs.
