Aeon Flux
Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Starring: Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence and sexual content.
Parental Notes: Aeon Flux is a fairly standard PG-13 film. There’s little explicit sexual content and the violence is not particularly graphic.
“Aeon Flux,” loosely based on the cartoon series which ran on MTV in the 1990s, is a visually stunning but otherwise deeply flawed film. Like all too many science fiction films, it emphasizes form over function, and although it’s fun to watch, it doesn’t offer much beyond that.
The story takes place 400 years in the future, after a virus has wiped out nearly all of humanity. The survivors live in Bregna, a city ruled by the descendants of the scientist who found a cure for the virus. However, the rulers are oppressive, and there is a growing underground rebellion against them. Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron, “Monster”) is a member of this group, a highly trained assassin and secret agent. She is assigned to kill Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas, “Kingdom of Heaven”), the current dictator. However, when she finds herself face to face with him, there is a strange connection between them. She is unable to kill him and sets out to discover what exactly is going on. Meanwhile, Trevor’s brother Oren (Jonny Lee Miller, “Dracula 2000”) is growing dissatisfied with his brother’s rule, and attempts a coup. Over the course of the film, Aeon learns that nothing is quite what it seems, including herself.
The underlying concept of the film (which, unfortunately, cannot be thoroughly discussed without revealing plot twists) is also rather intriguing. It’s a classic dystopic, science-gone-wrong storyline, with a healthy does of the “nothing is what it seems” theme, and in a better-thought-out film it would have produced a fascinating science fiction story.
All of this takes place in a futuristic atmosphere. Hairstyles, clothing, and technology are all somewhat alien and oddly beautiful. Nearly everything on the screen looks as though it was designed to make the audience gasp and whisper “Cool!” to themselves. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only goal of much of the visuals. Aeon’s hairstyle is beautiful, but utterly impractical — surely no assassin worth her salt would cut her hair so that it falls into her face all the time but is too short to tie back. Cloning, a subject generally handled poorly in science fiction films, is butchered yet again — here, clones somehow retain the memories and personality of the original source of their DNA.
The fights, fortunately, are fairly well-done and more a means to an end than the sole purpose of the film. Aeon is a crack shot and good at hand-to-hand combat, and most of her encounters with guards are over quickly but impressively. The extended fight sequences are also solid, and one of them, involving some sort of a transporter harness, is rather creative.
Most of the characters are incredibly cool — both in the sense that they have exciting and interesting jobs or attributes and in the sense that they project a very low- temperature personality. Aeon is unflappable, Trevor is virtually emotionless even when describing his long-lost wife, and Oren resentment toward his brother manifests suddenly out of nowhere. It is very difficult to be interested in characters who show little or no emotion. Consider the world of “Star Wars”, a classic of science fiction: the heroes display longings, fear, wry humor, and passionate love. Luke is new to the wide world most of the film takes place in. We can identify with these people because they feel the same things we do, even if their lives are very, very different from ours. Here, we don’t have that link to help us care about the people on screen.
These are all-too-common problems in science fiction films. It’s a pity, really. Science fiction is a genre full of possibilities. Some recent films have been quality sci-fi, without the common stumbling blocks (“Serenity,” for example), but for the most part, science fiction films these days are muddled and disengaging, and “Aeon Flux” is no exception. If all you’re looking for is a visually entertaining hour and a half, it may please, but if you want something more, look elsewhere.
dude if she saved the hole human race you would think she had some abs alittle more than what she has in the bathing suite pic or W/E it is you know? i mean realy they could of at least buffed her up.they just pic the hottest girls in hollywood nowa days wich sux butt not saying she sucked hella but they could have goten better.