In an absolute baller move, director Francis Ford Coppola has awarded a prestigious 5-star review to the film he likely thinks will be the smash hit of the year… spoiler alert, it’s his own movie. If there’s one word to describe the build up to Megalopolis, it’s “weird.” Even before the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, its production was hampered by reports of Coppola’s financial issues, budgetary problems, and the director firing the entire VFX team. Post-premiere, the reception around the film has, somehow, been even weirder. Reports were released following the premiere, suggesting that some members of the audience actively booed the movie, whilst simultaneously giving it a 7-minute standing ovation.
The reviews for Megalopolis are an incredibly mixed bunch, but, to soften the critical blow, Francis Ford Coppola has weighed in with his own opinion on the film. Taking to Letterboxd to give his 100% unbiased opinion, Francis Ford Coppola rated Megalopolis (drum roll please)… 5 STARS! — who’d have thought? Unfortunately, the director didn’t elaborate on his star rating with a written review, letting the stars speak for themselves. Coppola joined the fan review app in 2023 and, so far, has only publicly reviewed five movies. The only film he holds to the same standard as Megalopolis is The Last Showgirl, also released this year. It’s worth pointing out that The Last Showgirl is directed by Gia Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola’s granddaughter.
As for the critics’ reviews for Megalopolis, the movie has truly earned its namesake as a divisive film. With 115 reviews, Megalopolis sits at a perfectly divided 50%. Not enough audience reviews have been added to the site to calculate a Popcornmeter score. However, going by the reactions on social media, fans may hold a similar opinion to critics. Some TikTok and Instagram users have taken to recreating a popular trend during their screenings. They will film themselves before watching the movie, saying “I’m [Insert name], and this is me before watching Megalopolis.” Hard cut to their shocked reaction as they stumble through the words “This is me after watching Megalopolis,” and share their unfiltered opinions.
Francis Ford Coppola Lists the Movies That Inspired Megalopolis
While fans and writers are joking about Coppola’s self-awarding use of Letterboxd, on the app the director has shared a list of 19 movies that inspired Megalopolis. Greatly expanding on his answers to the increasingly popular “Four Favorites” (the interview format used by Letterboxd), the list features a mixture of unequivocal classics and underrated gems.
Among the entries in the list are certified Hollywood classics like Ben Hur, The Red Shoes, and Citizen Kane. The list also features (slightly) more contemporary influences, like Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, the Coen brothers’ The Hudsucker Proxy, and Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express. The list is then rounded out by more obscure movies, like Cabiria (1914), Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête (1946), and Raise the Red Lantern (1991).
Megalopolis
is currently showing in theaters.