Movies

This film is vastly underrated to me. The highlight is the visual design and imagination that it borrows from its source material. For sure, the story has been turned into a more conventional Hollywood plot, but it makes up for that with smooth action scenes, acrobatic stunts and imaginative gadgets.

Aeon Flux gets a bum rap from the critics due primarily to the politics of the studio / critic relationship; the studio's decision not to preview the film got the critic's undies in a bunch. But Aeon Flux turns out to be a solid B+ grade SciFi flick that is inventive, stylistic, coherent and just plain fun to watch, particularly if you are partial to an athletic incarnation of Charlize Theron in Spandex. The film is well-paced. The main characters have depth and there is "real emotion" evident in the acting, always a plus for a SciFi film. There are a few things to complain about to be sure, but they're not crucial to the plot. I enjoyed the "existential dilemma" and "identity crisis" elements that made the story interesting. I'll look forward to watching this one again in a year or two.

The visuals in this movie are just stunning. Charlize Theron is incredibly gorgeous, and the color palette overall is very warm, offsetting the sterility of the walled city. The scenes on the spires and the sky-ship are knockouts.The source material is very obtuse, and so is most of this flick. I really liked the story as it gradually developed, and we came to see the reality of what was going on. It does require the viewer to hang in there until everything is explained, but the ride is definitely worth it. It is a throwback to somewhat kitschy sci-fi from the 60s and 70s; its progenitors are (obviously) "Barbarella"/1968; (sets and costumes) "Fahrenheit 451"/1966; and (themes)"Zardoz"/1974.Destined to be a cult favorite, and will make a TON of money on DVD, trust me.