Movie Notes: Aeon Flux

January 8th, 2008

= 1 star

Starring Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller
Directed by Karyn Kusama

Synopsis

400 years in the future, Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) is a covert rebel agent fighting against the Goodchild regime within a city walled off from the rest of the world due to an incurable virus that devastated the human race.

The Good

• Well, Charlize Theron looks pretty hot with sleek black hair and leaping about in a leotard.

The Bad

• Any suspense is destroyed by overexplanation. One of the cool things about the Aeon Flux cartoon was no explanation as to what was going on behind the action. This film version basically ruins any mystery several times.
• Contrary to my usual opinion — this film needed more CGI. An airship has long canvas ribbons hanging beneath — these should have been alive and squirming. This flick just begs to have been filmed before green screen and filled in later by sexually repressed comic book nerds. Instead, many scenes occur in finely manicured office parks.
• Lacks all the surreal, surprising, and disturbing imagery (evoking the reaction WTF?) that was so fascinating about the cartoon.
• Many characters are given exceedingly dumb lines that they try in vain to lend importance. The result is depressingly stilted acting.

Conclusion

Aeon Flux seems conflicted between accessibility to a mainstream audience and the bizarre imagery of the animated version. I feel it goes too far toward the former and contains not enough of the latter. I actually got bored watching this flick. Skip the movie and watch the cartoon instead.

IMDB: Aeon Flux
Wikipedia: Aeon Flux
Rotten Tomatoes: Aeon Flux