Didn't read the book so the zig-zigging through 6 very different story lines was befuddling at first, but eventually got the hang of it. I was surprised that the 6 stories had so little or nothing to do with each other. Even more jarring was their wide range of styles - personal drama, epic struggle, dime store thriller, silly farce, etc. Sometimes the quick cuts between the stories worked wonderfully, other times they flopped. And using the same actors in multiple roles was pointless and distracting, a gimmick better suited to a pure comedy ("Coming to America" comes to mind). Overall, it was worth seeing because of how ambitious and creative it aspired to be, but be prepared for something that feels more like a missed opportunity than a great movie.

No less than eight times i almost walked out of this POS film but I didn't want to wake my wife. Not even a decent rental flick, wait for it to be on TV, odds are you won't hafta wait long. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I have never before hated a movie as much as the 3 hours I wasted with this film. And, I think I have lost any remaining desire to see another Tom Hanks movie. Just awful and pretentious, preachy, made no sense at all. This movie makes 1970s chain saw slasher films from the drive-ins look like a masterpiece, compared to Cloud Atlas.

If you have trouble sitting for long periods, prepare yourself. This runs nearly three hours without intermission, so think twice about showing up an hour early to get a good seat, that is of course, unless you mind spending half a day at a movie or need the aisle seat for another purpose. This film is necessarily long, as it has much to show, but after viewing it I wonder why it shows so much? It's not a particularly extraordinary story or film, except in length. The actual plot disappointed me in total, but perhaps it will appeal to you. I had particular difficulty hearing the mumbling sentences uttered by some characters as obvious cover for the talent's own dialectic expression deficiencies. All-in-all this isn't a bad film and is worth its ticket price based on novelty and length alone. Just don't expect to see or experience anything phenomenal or particularly memorable. For all its investment, it isn't a blockbuster. See it though. You won't be disappointed.

well i didnt fall asleep so thats good. the movie had its funny parts, interesting parts, emotional parts, creepy parts, cool made-up-language parts. it just took me a minute to begin to make sense off all the different characters, but atleast they wrap it up nicely, well i still have questions but for the most part i got the gist. im not a harsh critic so i say its worth checking out.