Aeon Flux

Went to see Aeon Flux after working last night and, even though it's definitely more style than content, it's not a bad movie at all - way better than the critics would have us believe. It's based on characters created by Peter Chung for the MTV animated series of the same name...

Set 400 years in the future after a virus has decimated 99% of Earth's population, humanity is reduced to living in one perfect city called Bregna. The remaining five million people living inside the walls of Bregna are ruled over by the scientist that discovered the cure, Chairman Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas), and to some it is a perfect society.

But while there's no pollution and everything is recycled, things are far from perfect! People have started disappearing but the government says everything is under control and then there are the dreams, dreams that cannot be explained. Their perfect society is crumbling and some see revolution as the only course. Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) is one of the resistance's top operatives and when she's sent in to eliminate Goodchild, she uncovers not the evil she was expecting but a world of secrets that could spell the final end of humanity.

As convertions from TV series to film go, this isn't bad at all and doesn't overly rely on it's audience having seen the series. I haven't seen the series but it certainly has the style of Chung's work such as The Chronicles Of Riddick: Dark Fury and The Animatrix: Matriculated short. There are loads of flowing garments and skin-tight suits and the obligatory ridiculous hairstyles and beautifully styled futuristic sets and it all works except for Aeon's sleeping attire and the Keeper's (Pete Postlethwaite) costume, both of which are just way too out there. I've reviewed Dark Fury on DVD (see the link above) and thought then that the costumes and style were a bit over the top but translated to live action, it works very well - the visuals are stunning.

I've seen comments that say it's too dependent on foreknowledge of the series but, having seen none of that, I picked it up without any trouble and I can't see where those comments are coming from as it stands alone fairly well. Charlize Theron is great as the warrior babe eye-candy but also adds her excellent acting skills to the role. She's definitely the most powerful character in the film and she's adequately supported by Marton Csokas as the scientist/man in charge - trying to run the government and its ministers while also following his true vocation. If it has a weakness it's in the dialogue, which is a bit on the thin side.

It's not a long film and the fast-paced action helps keep the storyline on track without it being bogged down with trivia such as what I thought happened in Minority Report and, given the various plot twists, you're certainly kept guessing as to who the bad guys really are. Definitely worth seeing for science-fiction fans and I might even try to get hold of the series on DVD.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Science-Fiction, Thriller
My Rating: 7/10