Babylon A.D.

[slickstu]

There's intelligent sci-fi, and there's big dumb sci-fi. Babylon A.D. stars Vin Diesel so naturally this film firmly resides in the latter category. But you gotta love Vin; he's an actor with limits and he knows what those limits are. Want a charismatic ball buster? Think Vin. Want a tough-talking, growly-voiced, testosterone junkie? Vin's your dude. Need a nihilistic mercenary for a near-apocalyptic sci-fi actioner? Get Vin on the phone, he's your man. You won't find him in a Shakespearean play or a Jane Austin adaptation but Vin's "Vin" and that's all that matters. By virtue of that logic then, if you take the "Vin Factor" out of the equation, it all goes downhill rapidly.

Babylon A.D.'s unoriginal premise - nihilistic hero protects fragile human weapon - immediately conjures images of other, better films such as The Fifth Element and Serenity. The weapon-chick in this movie even sports Jovovich-style elfin features and an exotic accent. Furthermore, for an action flick there's not much action and what there is tends to be a jump-cut shaky-cam mess, and there's a penchant for showing dead animals which becomes a little disturbing.

The film seems to be striving for Children Of Men in its tone but winds up more Children Of Men For Dummies such is its lack of an underlying, detailed mythos; instead sci-fi elements are introduced on the fly as required by each scene. Need a high octane action sequence? No worries, just dial up some futuristic armed UAVs to chase our protagonists. Need to establish a near apocalyptic future setting? Have our heroes travel through a "radiation zone"; that'll do it.

The films big twist (an immaculate conception of....wait for it.....twins!) bears no impact whatsoever. This is probably due to the fact that scant hints at holy significance merely arise when it is narratively convenient. The result is a shallow film whose attempts at earnestness are nullified by an audience which refuses to take it seriously.

There's some interesting Zemeckis-style "impossible" camera shots (invisible camera reflection shots, cameras receding through glass windows etc.), not all of which work and those that don't merely serve to cheapen the film further.

Some of the cast (Gerard Depardieu, Charlotte Rampling, Michelle Yeoh) should have known better than to be involved in this - the project probably looked better on paper - but the long and the short of it is that this movie is an unabashed Vin Diesel vehicle and it suits him to a tee. To that affect the film is, despite its not inconsiderable shortcomings, at the very least, mildly entertaining.

6.5 out of 10.

[SuperSize]

There's rumors that there was 70 Minutes cut out of this film, and from what I've seen it would have to be true.
There's just so many plot hold and what seems like unfinished scenes, this movie doesn't make any sense.

Even the director disowned this film when it was cut to pieces.
Why does Vin do this to himself, he could be another Stallone or Arnie, but he keeps making films like this.

But on a lighter note, if you ever want to see a movie that resembles S.T.A.L.K.E.R in a small way, watch this one.

[Justin88]

Yah to be honest thats quite true