DVD & Blu-ray review: Cloud Atlas (15)

Andy Wachowski DVD/Blu-ray (172mins)

“We cross and re-cross our tracks like figure skaters,” claims Jim Broadbent's bumbling publisher in this impenetrable adaptation of David Mitchell's time-hopping bestseller. Various characters – played by Tom Hanks, Ben Whishaw, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant – are connected through the ages by a musical score and acts of violence.

The film zips breathlessly around in time (the present, 1849, 1936, 1975, the 22nd century and a post-apocalyptic Earth), making little sense in any period. Broadbent is a highlight, though, as is the story of a rebellious clone in the future. The rest is baffling. Zhu Zhu also stars.