• Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” opens in theaters Friday after decades in development.
• Set in an imaginary New York City, the film stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza and Giancarlo Esposito.
• It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 51%.

The story of Francis Ford Coppola bringing his epic new film ‘Megalopolis’ to the big screen is almost as long and exciting as the film itself.

The project has spent decades in development, with stars like Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio both interested in appearing in it at one point. Coppola even commissioned a symphony for the film, almost twenty years before a single frame of it was shot. After numerous false starts, Coppola finally began filming his fable in 2022 with $120 million in self-financing.

Set in an imaginary New York City, “Megalopolis” follows a visionary architect named Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) as he clashes with a corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) in his quest to rebuild the city after a devastating disaster. The film also stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman.

Coppola’s epic has been controversial since it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May. There were allegations of on-set misconduct by Coppola, and a trailer from Lionsgate, which is releasing the film, was pulled after it was discovered to contain made-up quotes from critics.

Critics’ reactions to ‘Megalopolis’ were no less polarizing. As of publication, the film has a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s what critics think of the film, which hits theaters on Friday.