The film has had polarized reactions from both critics and audiences , who debated its length and editing of the interwoven stories , but praised other aspects such as its cinematography , score , visual style , ensemble cast , and originality . It received a lengthy standing ovation at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival , where it premiered on 9 September 2012 . The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 6.6 / 10 score based on 277 reviews . The site 's consensus states , " 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 . " Review aggregator Metacritic collected the " top 10 films of 2012 " lists from various critics and the film was number 25 and gives the film a 55 out of 100 , based on 45 reviews , indicating ' mixed to average ' reviews
37th Toronto International Film Festival
2012 Toronto International Film Festival
Cloud Atlas (film)