Babylon A.D.

Babylon A.D. ~ In the first wonderfully designed special effects laden thirty seconds of this flick – the story is ruined. We know how this will all end. I’m not fond of flashback stories like this because too often those behind the scenes don’t succeed in making me forget the opening with what follows. It’s a gamble that rarely pays off. I still am unsure if it does – that’s how muddled the actual ending is.

Vin Diesel plays Toorop, a mercenary in a presumably post apocalyptic post-war near future world. He’s hired to transport a young girl from Russia to New York City. Along for the ride is Michelle Yeoh, as the girl’s bodyguard/nun/denmother. Don’t worry though, nun or not, she’s still Michelle Yeoh, and she still kicks ass. Charlotte Rampling and Gerard Depardieu are oddly cast, and against type, but fun.

At its core, this Blade Runner meets Road Warrior scifi Road movie actually reminds me a bit of James Bond flick, with all of its multiple locations and various stunt chases and fights. I’m sure Diesel had a lot of fun with this, because we all know how badly, and how impossibly, he wants to be James Bond.

When Diesel does die, as prophesized in the first minute of the film (so I’m not really giving anything away), the movie gets more than a bit weird. There is a nice twist on the whole ‘day I died’ rift, which was surprising. The ending and explanations (religious and otherwise) are quite muddy. That said, this was much better than it had any right to be, and worth checking out for genre fans.