Leah Schnelback at tor.com also likes the movie.

That's a great review!

That's just how I described it to my sister, too: remember the stories the kids used to tell when they were little? They were all breathless climax: "And then Luke and Han got away! And THEN Darth Vader showed up and grabbed them! AND THEN a bunch of tie fighters showed up! And it was Leia and Chewie and she rescued them! And THEN..." Plot exists so we can have explosions and chase scenes and also pretty dresses and dances with bees.

She also makes her own decisions, for better or worse; nobody tells her what to do.

Seriously? Everybody tells her what to do! She makes, at most, one decision on her own. She spends the entire movie naively following directions, and doesn't question anyone's motives until Eddie Redmayne threatens to kill her family IN FRONT OF HER. Her great achievement at the end of the movie is Has A Boyfriend And New Shoes.

She hasn't saved Earth from anything - when she dies at the end of her natural human lifespan, Earth will be inherited by one of the other siblings who will harvest it anyway. And that's assuming neither of them try to kill her again.

She makes, at most, one decision on her own. She spends the entire movie naively following directions, and doesn't question anyone's motives

Nope, sorry, disagree. She listens to what everyone says, which is wise and it's reasonable when she doesn't know what to do in this entirely new world to follow directions from people who do. She IS naive in this situation; she's totally new here. Swaggering in with guns cocked and taking charge in a situation you know nothing about is for arrogant macho leading men. Jupiter listens and learns. She decides to stay with Caine after he rescues her from the Grays at the clinic, when she could have demanded to be taken home, because despite all the weirdness and danger she wants to know what's happening. She decides she can trust Caine and Stinger; she doesn't trust any of the others but she listens and tries to make the right choices in a confusing and dangerous situation when she doesn't know what to do. (This, to me, echoes how young girls often feel in real life - the world is really crazy and everyone says they know me and they know best, but who do I trust? what do I do? ) Lots of people have an agenda for her, and she listens to what people are telling her because she doesn't know how things work. She gets influenced, most notably by Titus who presented himself as wanting what she wanted, she gets blackmailed and lied to and kidnapped and physcially attacked, but she does not get ordered around. Nobody ever says, "Jupiter, do this!" with the expectation that she will simply obey (except her mom). Whenever she has a chance to make a decision, she does; she never collapses in a wailing helpless heap, as I've seen many other "heroines" do.

And no, she hasn't really saved the Earth from anything YET. She must be aware of that. But she's bought time. And left a great starting point for a sequel, which I hope we get.

Zen has nearly convinced me to pay full price to see it. Or at least at a matinee on a good screen instead of at the crappy screen at the dollar movie house.

Yay! I mean, even if you don't agree with me about the empowering girl stuff, it's a fun, pretty movie. I bet you'll leave the theater feeling a hell of a lot better after seeing JA than after seeing 50ShadesofAbuse or Kingsmen Kick Ass. Plus, if you see it, you'll understand why I keep saying Dances With Bees! and cackling.

I took the 50 Shades bullet for y'all and lived. Also ended up not paying a dime for our liquor or popcorn and got 2 free tickets to a future movie. All cause our service was so bad. Every point of the night was screwed up. Someone sitting in our seats - the server had checked their tickets and didn't notice they were in the wrong row (Alamo Drafthouse has reserved seating and service to your seats). Our drinks were delivered to the wrong table. We had to ask about our popcorn which we had ordered before the movie started. Our check was delivered to the wrong table. The drunk ladies at that table figured it out and gave it to us but then he didn't pick up our cards so we weren't able to pay before the movie ended.

Oh, and the movie? Best I can say is it was better than the books in that you don't have to deal with her "inner goddess". The whole audience laughed a lot. Some was awkward laughter but there were also laughs at the more ridiculous lines. Don't think that was the intended reaction but least the majority of the audience was on the same page.

Wait-is the character in Jupiter Rising named Jupiter Jones? Isn't that on of Alfred Hitchcocks Three Investigators?

is the character in Jupiter Rising named Jupiter Jones? Isn't that on of Alfred Hitchcocks Three Investigators?

Yes she is. Yes it is!

I hadn't known the last name (of the movie character). Man, I read a ton of those books when I was 10.