Cloud Atlas

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Cloud Atlas

R

2012

2h 52m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

288 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Actors (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent) take on multiple roles in an epic that spans five centuries. An attorney harbors a fleeing slave on a voyage from the Pacific Islands in 1849; a poor composer in pre-World War II Britain struggles to finish his magnum opus before a past act catches up with him; a genetically engineered worker in 2144 feels the forbidden stirring of human consciousness -- and so on. As souls are born and reborn, they renew their bonds to one another throughout time.

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Critics Consensus

Its sprawling, ambitious blend of thought-provoking narrative and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the sheer size and scope of Cloud Atlas are all but impossible to ignore.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Mar 23, 2022

3.5/4

I was hypnotized by Cloud Atlas.

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Brandy Howard

Autostraddle

Aug 31, 2021

[There's'] far too many actors in this town to have to bother paying Tom Hanks $100,000,000 and putting him in nine hundred scenes as different ethnicities and races.

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Julie Goldman

Bitch Media

Aug 31, 2021

There were so many prosthetic noses.

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Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

Jul 14, 2026

2/5

This film ambitiously attempts to show a karmic cycle, the application of the Golden Rule in seven different stories, yet the movie does seem to reflect a troubling racist bias.

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Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Dec 28, 2025

3.5/5

Cloud Atlas remains an ambitious, cast-driven epic whose scope impresses even when its structure overwhelms.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Dec 20, 2025

3/4

The problem with many films offering multiple storylines is that interest ebbs and flows as the picture moves from one saga to the next. Cloud Atlas is unique in that all six stories are accorded equal weight and manage to maintain interest.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 13, 2026

Cloud Atlas = a 3.5 star Movie!

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Daniel T

@daniel.tison Aug 29, 2026

Everything is connected and every little action has an impact echoing far in the future.

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Ravinder S

@FlyingSkeleton Aug 15, 2026

Great acting. Jumping every 30 seconds to a different timeline was a bit comfusing at first but perplexing throughout nonetheless. Not quite sure what the great reveal or what the point was in the end.

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Sergio A. G

@RT95532440 Jul 22, 2026

The second time I watched it I could get the whole plot, still one of my favorite movies. It’s a sci-fi love story if you’d ask me.

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Duan A

@RT86182278 Jul 12, 2026

Interesting ways to connect different stories, not boring, but not a must

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Brian M

@RT47534193 Jul 7, 2026

Demands your attention which for some viewers may be a challenge. In spite of some less than convincing race and gender altering makeup, the actors do manage to thoroughly inhabit each character. In spite of its flaws it rewards the viewer with new revelations upon repeat viewing.

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Lana Wachowski

Director

Lilly Wachowski

Director

Tom Tykwer

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Synopsis

Actors (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent) take on multiple roles in an epic that spans five centuries. An attorney harbors a fleeing slave on a voyage from the Pacific Islands in 1849; a poor composer in pre-World War II Britain struggles to finish his magnum opus before a past act catches up with him; a genetically engineered worker in 2144 feels the forbidden stirring of human consciousness -- and so on. As souls are born and reborn, they renew their bonds to one another throughout time.

Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Producer: Grant Hill, Stefan Arndt, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski
Screenwriter: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: X-Filme Creative Pool, Cloud Atlas Production, Anarchos Productions Inc.
Rating: R (Sexuality/Nudity|Language|Some Drug Use|Violence)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 26, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $27.1M
Runtime: 2h 52m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby A, DTS

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