Aeon Flux (Special Collector's Edition)
by Karyn Kusama
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DVD details
Actor: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Jonny Lee Miller, Marton Csokas, Sophie OkonedoDirector: Karyn Kusama
Brand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Producer: Charlie Woebcken
Producer: David Gale
Producer: Eric Neal Young
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
Writer: Matt Manfredi
Writer: Peter Chung
Writer: Phil Hay
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-25
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Aeon Flux (Special Collector's Edition)
DVD Review: Okay film, but terrible adaptation
Summary: 2 Stars
Taken on its own, this is a so-so B science fiction movie with very nice effects and visuals. But as an adaptation of the animated series, it is pretty terrible.
Granted that the TV series's storylines were always byzantine, often bordering on the incomprehensible, but there was always a lot of thought and wit behind them, and the dialogue was consistently brilliant. It was a show that expected a lot of its audience, and it's unfortunate that a lot of people (the makers of this movie in particular) can't see past the show's eye candy. By comparison, this film's script just drips mediocrity. The effects are wonderful and must have cost a fair penny, and they really do capture the distinctive look of the show, so I can't help but wish they'd taken the time to write a decent story that was somewhat faithful to its source material.
They could have at least tried to get the basics of the premise right. In the original show, Aeon is a super-competent freelance agent, working to undermine the rule of Trevor Goodchild, an eccentric megalomanic scientist who has seized political control of the city-state of Bregna (pronounced BREN-yeh) to use as a giant petri dish for his scientific and social engineering experiments. Trevor is weirdly charismatic and seems to genuinely believe he is creating a utopia, despite the obvious dystopian aspects of the world he has made. Across the heavily guarded border lies the rival nation of Monica. We never see much of Monica, but it appears to be a much freer place than Bregna, and Aeon frequently helps people try to sneak across the border, as well as sabotaging all of Trevor's crackbrained pet projects as they occur to him. Although she clearly sympathizes with Monica, she "takes no side" and is essentially an anarchist, rebelling against any controlling authority, and therefore despising Trevor's despotism. Further complicating matters is the fact that Aeon and Trevor share a past, the details of which are never given, and are still deeply infatuated with one another, even though they are now enemies.
So there you go! The makings of a terrific movie script, right?
I guess not. In this movie, Aeon is not her own boss, but instead is a minion taking orders from a rebel organization called the Monicans. Monica itself does not exist. Trevor never staged a coup, but is instead the hereditary monarch of Bregna (pronounced BREG-na). Most of humanity was wiped out by a disease generations ago, and Brega is all that's left. People have been getting secretly killed by Trevor's government, so the Monicans want to kill Trevor. Aeon begins experiencing flashbacks to a past with Trevor that she doesn't clearly remember. Without spoiling the big revelation about why Trevor's government is assassinating people, I can say that Trevor's personality and motivations end up bearing no resemblence to the original, and that the original was a lot more interesting. For her part, Aeon is far less confident than her animated counterpart, and spends most of the movie being led around by various different people and being unsure what to do. When she finally does something proactive toward the end of the film... frankly, it seems like kind of a stupid action under the circumstances, but it works out. The dialogue is a huge let-down, with none of the wonderful, multi-leveled verbal sparring betwen Aeon and Trevor that defined their relationship in the original show. Aeon does get in a couple of very good lines right as she's about to make the above-mentioned big decision, however.
The funky music is cool, and the film is fun to look at. Charlize Theron does an admirable job with the material she's given; I'm impressed by how well she nailed the animated character's voice. On it's own merits, it's not such a bad film, just nothing remarkable. But it is a lousy adaption of its source material.
DVD Review: re-gift for your pre teen, now
Summary: 2 Stars
Although the previews & star suggested the film might be worthy of a mature & intelligent audience, it was an old, boring story with some flashy special effects and nothing very new. Aeon Flux no doubt does come or will come from the gaming world & thus, the attraction for youth, but any adult who thought they had discovered quality Sci Fi because someone fast talked Charlize Theron into the star role will be no less disappointed. Game World brought to life with Charlize Theron, end of not-so-hot-old struggle for power, clone story...big deal-not.DVD Review: Alot of bang for your Flux bucks! 3 1/2 Stars!
Summary: 3 Stars
Aeon Flux is the 2005 film based on the early 90s animated shorts and late 90s half hour eps;and quite ride it is.I highly recommend the Aeon Flux animated collection also available,but do not try to compare the two.The movie(like any anime'to film property)is a palatable(dressed down)version of the animated series,with the action in the animated series much richer and heavier in content than its' movie counterpart.But that doesn't mean there's not alot to recommend here.
The story is set in the year 2011 and the walled-in city Bregna,is host to earths' last surviving population.A plague 400 years ago left the survivors sterile and the Goodchild Research Foundation now runs the city with an iron hand.It is in turn run by its' name sake brothers Trevor(Marton Csokas,Borias from Xena) and Oren(John Miller).
But something strange is happening to many of the citys' citizens.Besides a myriad of daily disappearances,many of its' citizens who meet perfect strangers have inexplicable remnant memories of them;some good,some bad.
Our heroine Aeon Flux(Charlize Theron)is part of a rebel group called The Monacans who are fighting to end the Goodchild regime,by any means.Monacans are genetically and drug enhanced humans with superior strength and speed.They also can contact one another and/or their leader "The Handler"(Frances McDormand) psychically.Aeon is first given the job of sabotaging the security system which she accomplishes with little problem.On her way to meet her sister she sees her being carried out dead on a stretcher.Aeon wants and gets her revenge as her next assignment is to kill Trevor Goodchild.Making her way through many extremely difficult defences she manages to penetrate the Citadel where she finds Trevor rehearsing a speech.As she approaches him he turns,recognizes her and says the name of "Catherine".She also vaguely recognizes something in him but it is too late and her hesitation causes her to be caught.Not for long as she escapes and returns to meet with Trevor.They make love and after a brief sleep Aeon wakes up and chokes Trevor to near death.She leaves and realizes that her answer may lay in an object that circles the city in the sky called the"Relico".It is a flying ship supposedly built to remind the inhabitants of their sacrifices but she thinks there is more to it.She gets aboard and finds out the whereabouts of her sister and leaves.Trevor who has followed behind now knows what she was after and finds out even more information he didn't know of.He meets Aeon at the location of her sister to find that the sister is now a baby.Trevor reveals that she has been cloned;in fact everyone has been cloned over the past 400 years.He also says the real reason her sister was killed was that she was pregnant,naturally.Nature has found a cure on its own for the sterile plagued society and Trevors'brother Oren wants to keep the information from getting out,thus all the kidnappings,disappearances and deaths.Oren has also condemned Trevor to death as a traitor for sleeping with Aeon and both are now wanted fugitives.Aeon herself has also been handed a death sentence seperately by her own Monacan organization for not carrying out her mission.After a bloodied battle with Oren's forces who fight not only Trevor and Aeon but other Monacan snipers,the two barely escape with their lives.Aeon again climbs aboard the "Relico" and blows the ship up,sending it crashing into a section of city wall and exposing the outside forested world to the startled inhabitants.The citizens now free of the Goodchild oppression can now start to live their lives anew.
The film is filled with spectacular stunts and CGI effects throughout and some sequences are amazing to watch.One especially delightful sequence is with a friend,the hand-footed Zathandra,as they attempt to cross the rolling grassy landscape towards the Citadel.With incredible jumps by the pair punctuated by deadly gourds with shooting syringes of poison and the grass,which becomes seemingly alive when a human presence is detected-going from blades of grass to razor sharp blades of steel.
It is certainly both an aural and visual feast to be sure.But the plot keeps you intrigued and interested,I found,throughout the picture with very few let ups.And more importantly this film is one you can watch over and over and still find something just a little different each time.
The picture here is top notch,crisp and clear all the way and with that wonderful sound available in D/Surround 5.1 or 2.0.
The special features abound:Commentary by Theron and producer Gale Hurd or by co-writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi,"Creating a World:Aeon Flux"(20 m),"Location of AF"(15m),"Stunts of AF"(9m),"Costume Design Workshop of AF"(13m),"Craft of the set Photographer"(3m) and trailers.
All in all this DVD is a worthy addition to anyone's movie library.It's a very engaging Sci-Fi concept brought to the big screen via its' animated roots and one you can watch again and again.
DVD Review: fabulous effects, mediocre story, not watchable more than once
Summary: 2 Stars
As a fan of hard sci-fi, I am at a loss as to why so many current productions have great computer effects but the same banal plots (revolutionary against dystopia with special abilites to inflict violence, etc.). I read reviews, buy them, and then feel so disappointed that I never want to view them again. For the most part, while occasionally intrigued, I feel, "that's it? They did this whole thing and THAT was all they had to offer?" Unfortunately, this is one of those films: the images are striking, the mystery fun, and then you get to the end and wonder how any producer could have imagined it would sell enough to recoup the investment.
Not recommended. I won't play the spoiler, but really, you are better off reading the comic book.
DVD Review: Stunning : A Science Fiction Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
"Aeon Flux" is one of those rare films that gets universally negative reviews from critics who are normally used to 'epics' such as "Out of Africa" or "Terms of Endearment". It takes a different sort of mind to appreciate science fiction, because the genre is rare at giving us true classics. That said, if you liked David Lynchs' dark and disturbing film version of "Dune", then you will certainly find much to like in "Aeon Flux".
The film runs like the fractured tale of a universe in peril, and one woman seems to hold the key and the balance between two insane realities. Charlize Theron really brings it as the lead character, and they really prop her well with the choicest special effects and the most liberal use of CGI, though in an appropriate manner. Theron has always been a good actress, but her stiff, warrior-like role here will win over the most jaded of science fiction fans, simply because there is no comparison (Milla Jovovich in "Ultraviolet" comes close, but that was more pop-art than dystopian art).
The storyline is bleak, yet hopeful, and the multiple realities really make the film work even in areas where the script might sometimes let it down. There are issues with it, yes, but I think that it only works in making the film truly a work of art, because unlike other films in the genre, it doesn't cheapen science fiction, but rather glorifies it as a true vision of the future, much like the classic SF novels of the 1960s (remember Roger Zelazny?)
"Aeon Flux" deserves five stars, and a really good projection system, because the visuals in this movie are just so clear, stunning and memorable, and this is one movie you can watch again and again - which in my book is the hallmark of a true classic.
Description of Aeon Flux (Special Collector's Edition)
400 years in the future, after a virus decimates the world population, only one city on Earth remains. Ruled by the Goodchild dynasty, it is a perfect society of peace and prosperity - except that its citizens keep mysteriously disappearing. Academy Award? winner Charlize Theron stars as Aeon Flux, a secret agent/assassin/warrior whose mission is to bring down the regime. But as she goes deeper into her mission, Aeon uncovers some shocking secrets that jeopardize the mission - and her life.Like the animated series it's based on, Aeon Flux is the kind of sci-fi that's best appreciated by the MTV generation. It's a serious attempt at stylized, futuristic action/adventure (the title character, played by Charlize Theron, is essentially a female James Bond for the cyberpunk era) and taken for what it is, it's not all that bad. The action takes place in the year 2415, four centuries after a virus nearly decimated the human race, leaving only five million survivors in a utopian city called Bregna. Aeon belongs to the Monicans, a secret rebel resistance force that is struggling to destroy the Goodchild regime led by its namesake, Trevor Goodchild (Martin Csokas), the ruler of Bregna and a descendant of the man who found a cure for the deadly virus. As instructed by the Handler (Frances McDormand, gamely playing along in ridiculous sci-fi regalia), Aeon is assigned to assassinate Goodchild, but there are deeper secrets to be discovered, and conspiracies to be foiled. This leads director Karyn Kusama (who fared much better with her debut feature Girlfight) to indulge in all sorts of routine action and fast-paced gunplay, but the elusive pleasures of Aeon Flux are mostly found in the sleek athleticism of Theron and costar Sophie Okonedo (as a fellow Monican), who commit themselves 100% to roles that are dramatically flat yet physically dynamic. Other highlights include Aeon's high-tech gadgetry (including an eyeball that doubles as a microsocope) and the amusing sight of Pete Postlethwaite in a costume resembling a construction-site disposal tube, but Flux fans may wonder what happened to the surreal, chromium sheen future that gave the MTV series its visionary appeal. As a live-action feature, Aeon Flux is a miscalculated exercise in cheesy style and dour tone, but it's entertaining enough to earn a small cadre of admirers. --Jeff Shannon
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