Megalopolis is baffling and plainly nuts but worth it

Production and creative approach

• Commenters highlight the film’s long, troubled gestation and highly improvisational process.
• The director reportedly let actors write scenes and made spontaneous script changes, which some compare to certain Asian art‑house working methods.
• This approach allegedly caused major crew resignations (art department, VFX), reinforcing the film’s reputation as a chaotic, risky project.

Reception and viewing experience

• Reactions are sharply polarized: some found it fascinating, “baffling and nuts,” and worth seeing once; others call it one of the worst films they’ve seen.
• Multiple reports of walkouts, boredom, or people staying only out of curiosity about what wild thing might happen next.
• Other screenings had audiences laughing (sometimes at, sometimes with the film) and even applauding; some found it joyfully absurd, “like a high‑budget cult movie.”
• Several describe it as uneven: strong individual elements (costumes, some set pieces) buried in what feels poorly planned or badly edited.

Comparisons and influences

• Frequently compared to:
  • Cult/so‑bad‑it’s‑good films (“The Room,” Neil Breen),
  • Ambitious messes (“Southland Tales”),
  • Fever‑dream, art‑house spectacles or modern “Satyricon.”
• Some see parallels with “The Fountainhead” and note that conversation about the film often ignores its stated inspiration from recent anthropological and historical works, plus certain 20th‑century novels.

Themes and politics

• The New Rome / American Republic angle strikes some as clichéd and pretentious; others say the director is aiming at broader critiques of patriarchy, civilization, and power.
• A long quoted statement about prehistoric matriarchy, patriarchy, horses, slavery, and plagues is heavily criticized as pseudo‑history and sexist, or at least highly confused.
• One viewer strongly identifies with the protagonist’s “visionary vs corrupt city” arc and reads it as a near‑personal allegory.

Passion projects and industry context

• Several defend the film’s existence as a large, original, non‑franchise “passion project” in a reboot‑heavy era, even if the result is flawed.
• Debate over whether rich patrons should only fund such projects or also drive creative decisions; some argue jobs and craft matter regardless, others stress that crews want to believe in the end product.

Language and pronouns tangent

• A side discussion unpacks the Swedish gender‑neutral pronoun “hen” and broader frustrations with gendered pronouns in English, including bespoke pronoun “fads.”