Are you wondering if Megalopolis has a post-credits scene? We’ll tell you right here: It doesn’t have a mid- or post-credits scene of any kind.
Full spoilers for the movie follow from here…
Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded, controversy-prone science fiction extravaganza Megalopolis has finally arrived, and while critics are split on the film (as of this writing it’s got a 50% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes), there’s no denying that it’s full of head-scratching moments.
That might even include during the act of buying tickets for the film, where consumers will find that you have two options: Megalopolis: The Ultimate Experience and plain old regular Megalopolis. Let’s delve into what the so-called “immersive” Ultimate Experience is all about, as well as what the ending of the movie means… and more!
What Is Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis?
Having directed such classics as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and yes, even Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Coppola has earned a certain degree of latitude when we’re approaching any new project from the filmmaker. He also has attracted quite a cast for Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver as architect of the future Cesar Catilina, Giancarlo Esposito as Cesar’s rival Mayor Franklyn Cicero, Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero, daughter of the mayor and lover of Cesar, Aubrey Plaza as Wow Platinum, part financial reporter/part Access Hollywood host, and Shia LaBeouf as Clodio, a cousin of Cesar’s who craves his power and influence. Other familiar faces who show up in supporting or outright small roles include Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, and Dustin Hoffman.
Set in a futuristic version of New York City, which is now called New Rome, Megalopolis details the ins and outs of Cesar’s battles with Mayor Cicero (and others) over how best to evolve the city and help its masses, and then how best to rebuild it after a Russian satellite falls from the sky and takes out large chunks of the skyline. In an onscreen title card, Coppola presents the film as a “fable,” but is clearly attempting to juxtapose the fall of the Roman Empire with the United States’ current trajectory.
Or something.
Frankly, Megalopolis is as confusing as it is ambitious, as convoluted in parts as it is visually cool in others. But what does it all add up to in the end? Read on…
Megalopolis Ending Explained
Did I mention that Driver’s Cesar can freeze time? Yes, amid all the quoting of Shakespeare and psychedelic trips that go on in the film, Cesar has the unique ability to stop time. Usually only Robert Hays and denizens of the Twilight Zone can pull this trick off, but when we first meet Cesar, he barely saves himself when stepping from the edge of the top of the Chrysler Building by… yep, freezing time with just a few words.
He’ll use that trick from time to time, but really it’s his discovery of something called megalon that is his real magic. This super-element allows Cesar, as head of the city’s “Design Authority,” to begin to craft a vision of the utopia that he wants to morph New Rome into. (That vision kinda looks like a planet Doctor Strange would visit, but whatever.) This stands in opposition to the mayor’s more by-the-book take on how to improve the city – he prefers the old-fashioned way, which is to say to not change much. And then there’s Voight’s rich guy Crassus, whose money will be needed for whoever’s vision wins out.
Throughout the film there’s a lot of sparring, both verbal and for position, culminating in an assassination attempt on Cesar that leaves half his face blown off. But megalon is used to reconstruct him, resulting in a glowing half-face that is even more trippy than the scenes when characters are actually tripping out.
Cesar has other problems though, namely that Shia LaBeouf’s Clodio has teamed up with Aubrey Plaza’s Wow to close Cesar’s bank accounts while also forcing Crassus (who Wow married in a futuristic Coppola wedding sequence earlier in the film) into retirement in order to take control of his fortune. Clodio has also developed a cult of personality following that is opposed to Cesar, thanks to his promises that he will make life better for the ordinary and downtrodden citizens of the city, even if he actually doesn’t care about them.
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