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The shrink wrap on Aeon Flux proclaims that this version
is “Locked and Loaded with hours of eye popping extra’s”.
Oh great, instead of a just a really bad movie, there’s
a bunch of lame special features also. Wonderful. ***
Aeon Flux serves has having the unfortunate stigma
of not being screened for critics when it hit last December.
When a movie isn't screened for critics, it usually means
that the studio can see how bad their film is and wants
to protect what little value they see in the movie. ***
Twenty minutes into the emotionless wreck that is Aeon
Flux and it's easy to see that you would have made the same
call. Not screen it for critics? I wouldn't even screen
it to a crowd of science fiction nerds who live to debate
the ion flux capacity that would be required to rip apart
the fabric of space and travel through time. And it's not
because the science fiction aspect isn't interesting, it's
just completely mundane. ***
You don't need an Oscar on your resume to tackle the
title role of Aeon Flux. While Charlize Theron did win one
for Monster and was nominated for North Country, it's not
her acting talent on display. Her character, Aeon, is completely
without emotion. She walks through scenes with a mono-syllabic
percussion to her voice. A female robot who has enough warmth
around the edges to actually be human. ***
Aeon is a part of the Monican rebellion. It's 400 years
in the future and disease has wiped out all but 5 million
people. These 5 million people live in a walled in city,
ruled by the man who found the cure for the disease, Trevor
Goodchild (Marton Csokas). For some very unexplained reason,
the rebellion hates the government because they've created
the perfect utopian society. People are happy but mysterious
things, like people disappearing without a trace, do happen.
The Monica rebellion is about letting the people be free.
Free of what? I don't know, considering there isn't anything
to be free of. ***
Still, Aeon is given the mission of killing Trevor Goodchild
by the Handler (Frances McDormand) so she goes to do it.
After jumping killer grass and getting shot at by weird
bee hive shooters, she, along with her sometimes sidekick
Sithandra (Sophie Okonedo), who has another set of hands
where her feet used to be, goes in for the kill. Something,
though, stops her from killing Trevor and he recognizes
her as "Katherine". The five W's (who, what, when, where
and how) are then on display as Aeon must team up with Trevor
to figure out what is going on. ***
Figuring out what is going on, though, is not something
you should be bothering with. You won't get it. Aeon Flux
is based on the animated television show of the same name
that played on MTV many years back. If you've seen the show,
you have a leg up as I'm sure being familiar with the world
would have helped the overall concept of the film. As it
stands now, it is vague, cold, sterile and non-accessible
to anybody but the deepest fan boy. ***
Sure, while the action scenes are going on, it doesn't
matter that you don't understand why people can go into
their subconscious and sort of "radio" other people but
it would have helped the film if they could have ground
their science in something tangible. The science fiction
on display is either so completely absurd, in an attempt
to be different, that it falls flat or so similar to things
already done that it is unoriginal. ***
The science fiction is the least of Aeon Flux's worries,
though. More important is the world that the film embraces.
This world is completely without emotion. There is nary
a laugh, or a joke. There aren't any light moments passed
a few forced jabs. Emotional moments are underscored with
a sense of "fakeness" in which they never reach any sort
of emotional core because of it. This is a film that is
lacking an emotion chip. Charlize runs through all the lines
in a similar tone and everybody talks with hushed voices
as if they're afraid if they talk too loud, they might blow
out the center speaker. ***
There's a feeling throughout the entire film that director
Karyn Kusama just doesn't have a handle on the material.
She doesn't present it in a way that is even remotely accessible
to people who have no inclination as to what Aeon Flux is
all about. It's sloppy filmmaking that misses out hugely
important bits of information such as the rules that this
universe plays by. ***
Kusama also does a poor job with her action scenes.
While they lack any sort of visual punch, they're also missing
emotion. It's never clear what Aeon is fighting for. Is
she fighting the good fight? Or is she going in the opposite
direction? The action scenes just have no feeling to them.
Like the world that Aeon Flux lives in, they are cold and
sterile. They might look fancy, but deep down, they're nothing
but a clone of other action/sci-fi film's that at least
had a coherent story. ***
Aeon Flux is an attempt to capitalize on a sci-fi fan
base that will most likely embrace the film based solely
on its futuristic setting and ideals. Regular viewers need
not apply. ***
Image and Sound: You know, I really hate these new cases
that you have to unclip to open. Why would they do that?
What makes them so useful? It’s annoying to have to unclip
the package to open it up. Call me lazy but I just want
to pop that DVD out of the package and get going. Maybe
the packaging people were trying to deter people from watching
Aeon Flux? That wouldn’t be so bad. As for the transfer.
It’s fine, as are the transfers on most new movies these
days. The digital sound mix sounds great. The rear speakers
get some work (especially in one of the opening scenes where
Aeon is infiltrating the base) and things sound clear. ***
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