Megalopolis' first full trailer insists it will stand the test of time
The new Megalopolis trailer compares mixed reception to Francis Ford Coppola's epic to bad reviews of his earlier masterworks
Screenshot: Lionsgate/YouTube
“True genius is often misunderstood,” begins the new Megalopolis trailer, a sentiment that could just as easily apply to the character Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) as it does to the film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola. In this case, though, it’s specifically about Coppola, as the trailer highlights the (potentially fake?) criticism he received for groundbreaking work like The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s meant as a way to lean into the stories and reviews calling Megalopolis chaotic and messy. But it also serves to highlight the similarities between Coppola and his protagonist Cesar, a visionary architect fighting for the future. “There’s still so much to accomplish, but is there time?” Cesar wonders in the trailer. You have to imagine that the 85-year-old filmmaker is wondering the same.
We have to admit, it’s pretty clever to make Megalopolis‘ baffling reputation part of the marketing for the movie. Following early screenings at Cannes, some critics have panned the film entirely, while others have admired its gonzo ambition. “Can one wonder at the grandeur of it all while still finding the resulting monstrosity a mix of overwhelming and tacky?” Jason Gorber wrote in his B- review for The A.V. Club. “Is this a masterwork, or the half-baked political philosophy of a late career iconoclast—one both raging at the dying light, yet finding hope in the furtive, feeble movements of a new generation?”