Movie · 2024 · Science Fiction, Drama, Fantasy · 2h 18m · R · English
Curator score: 0.6/10 (326.1K ratings)
If you can't see a better future, build one.
Overview
In a futuristic New York known as New Rome, visionary architect Cesar Catilina dreams of building "Megalopolis," a utopian city that redefines society’s limits. Opposing him is the corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who clings to power and profit. Between them stands Julia, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar forces her to choose between loyalty, ambition, and the fate of humanity.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.6/10
IMDb: 4.7/10
Letterboxd: 2.29/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 46%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 5.2/10
Director
Francis Ford Coppola
Production
American Zoetrope, Caesar Film
Cast
Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D. B. Sweeney, Isabelle Kusman, Bailey Coppola, Madeleine Gardella, Balthazar Getty, Romy Mars, Haley Sims
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly ambitious, frequently incoherent, and often fascinating prestige disaster that plays like a late-career self-mythology project. It’s worth watching if you’re drawn to maximalist spectacle, big ideas, and the thrill of a major filmmaker swinging for the fences, but it will frustrate anyone looking for clean storytelling or consistent tone.
Best for
viewers who enjoy ambitious failures and cult curiosities
fans of operatic sci-fi and political allegory
people interested in late-career auteur passion projects
audiences who like visually extravagant, conversation-starting movies
Skip if
you need a coherent plot and grounded character arcs
you dislike camp, excess, or tonal whiplash
you want polished worldbuilding over raw ambition
you’re not in the mood for a movie that feels intentionally or unintentionally absurd
Overview
Megalopolis is less a conventional science-fiction drama than a grand, unruly act of artistic self-assertion. It imagines a decaying future New York as a stage for civic collapse, utopian dreaming, sexual melodrama, and philosophical speeches that often feel like they’re colliding rather than connecting. The result is messy, but rarely dull.
Worth noting
What makes it linger is the scale of the gamble. Coppola is chasing something ancient and futuristic at once: a Roman fable, a city symphony, a political warning, and a personal manifesto. The film’s visual ambition is real, even when the execution feels unstable or bizarrely theatrical.
Bottom line
As a viewing experience, it’s closer to a provocation than a polished narrative. Some will see a catastrophe; others will see a fearless, one-of-a-kind swing. Either way, it’s the kind of movie that invites argument, and that alone makes it notable.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Framesofnick (5★) · 15385 likes
YALL ARE WRONG
You see you gotta go into the movie the same way as Francis Ford Coppola, blazed out of your fucking mind. You gotta meet him on the same plane, the same level of thinking. Hitting the cart 6 times before entering the showing like I did.
And only then will you find out this is the best anti drug PSA ever
This movie genuinely made me want to avoid weed for as long as I live. If… more
George Fenwick (1★) · 14301 likes
the 138-minute cinematic equivalent of someone showing you a youtube video they promise is really good
Karsten (3.5★) · 8236 likes
the first and probably last of its kind. there was a moment during this that was so ridiculous i basically blacked out for 10 minutes from disbelief. was that even allowed?something very Annette (2021) about this, which is a good thing. i will say, i did want out of this multiple times and couldn’t see the light. probably the hardest anyone will ever commit to the bit and for that reason alone i gotta respect it. i’m underselling this thing, it’s fucking ridiculous. technically a monkey mondays movie
BrandonLikes (1.5★) · 7820 likes
Francis made a coppola mistakes with this one.
Nathancarter13 · 6536 likes
Top 10 bars spat in Megalopolis:
1. Go back to the cluuuBbBbbb2. “What was that?” “that’s your pussy” 3. Hey…. What do you think of my erection? 4. What’s a hotdog in a bun called… mm pigs in a blanket, yes that’s right 5. You’re anal as hell… and me… I’m oral as hell 6. Revenge is best served in a dress…. HE HE HA HEEE HEEE HE 😭😭😭7. “Ow you’re hurting me!” “I’m kissing you mother”8.… more