Was there anyone that didn’t burst
out laughing at the trailer for Aeon Flux?
The generic action/sci-fi tone of the trailer, the deadpan
delivery of every line, Frances McDormand’s hair, the
silly costumes – all of this topped off with a near-worthless
brand name, a cult cartoon figure a decade past its prime.
On the surface, I might have been giggling, but on the inside…
Well, I was still giggling, but a thought was running
through my head at the same time: “Hot girls kicking
ass! Hot girls kicking ass! Oh my God, it’s another
movie where hot girls get to kick some ass!”
 I’m
not even going to suggest that it’s a “guilty”
pleasure – hot girls kicking ass is a genre of film
that I will always love and cherish until the day I die. I’m
speaking specifically about the newer breed of hot girls kicking
ass. The old women-in-prison flicks are still awesome, but times are different now. The
old bad-girl flicks can manage to spark my imagination, but Milla Jovovitch firing rocket launchers in a building for the dual purpose
of killing zombies and setting off the sprinkler system for
a wetter, more desirable shirt –now that sparks both
my imagination and my pants.
Despite Aeon Flux’s obvious attempt
to win me over with a premise that I will hopefully never
tire of, there were a few concerns that I and a couple of
thousand other fans had: can an ambiguous, fetishistic, blood-soaked
mindfuck of a television
series translate into a PG-13 live-action film? The answer,
if you couldn’t guess by now, is no.
 It
doesn’t. Oh boy, it really doesn’t.
A text screen (uh oh) pitches the general idea: in 2011 (cutting
it a bit early, don’t you think?) an unknown virus kills
off most of the Earth’s population. Just in time to
save a handful of people, Trevor Goodchild manages to develop
a cure that keeps five million survivors living in the Utopian
city of Bregna, the last city on Earth. The Goodchild dynasty
reigns up until present times (2415 to be exact) and in this
time an uprising of rebels have grouped together in order
to overthrow the Goodchild ruling.
Known as the Monicans, you can tell these guys are rebels
because they wear excessive black eye makeup, wear black clothing
and communicate with Frances McDormand inside of their brain.
The Monicans see the Government as overbearing fascists willing
to do whatever they want. People disappear without a trace.
Nobody is allowed to truly think for themselves. The walls
surrounding the city designed to protect them from the outside
world are now feeling more and more like a cag– oh shit,
I get it, it’s like society is today! Right?! RIGHT?!
Social commentary!!!
 Enter
our protagonist Aeon Flux, a stylish assassin with orders
from the Monicans to assassinate chairman Goodchild. A double-whammy
ensues when the Bregnan government executes Aeon’s sister
for unknown reasons, so now not only is it Aeon’s job
to off Goodchild, you can sure as hell bet she’s going
to be enjoying every moment of it. However, as soon as Aeon
manages to get close enough to fire a bullet point-blank into
Goodchild’s mussy hair, she hesitates and gets slapped
into a prison cell.
 But
don’t worry, thanks to the conventions of lazy
science fiction writing, Aeon has an arsenal of Deux Ex
Machinas to get her out of such situations – a convention
that always bugged the shit out of me in films like this.
I can fully accept that hundreds of years in the future we’ll
have all sorts of amazing technology, but with Aeon
Flux, absolutely nothing is set up, there’s
no cheap foreshadowing, there’s not even some Bond-esque
scene where a stuffy Britishman introduces the audience to
the weaponry which is going to be used in the film.
Aeon thinks the water might be drugged? Hell, with a tilt
of the head – BOOM! A robot eye that can scan the water
for impurities! Someone got shot in the chest? Why, Aeon has
a thin layer of replaceable skin that she can rip off of her
body in order to treat you! Unexplained technology is scattered  around
this movie like confetti, and instead of it seeming natural
it comes off like the script was written into a corner, and
this was the only way out.
Aeon manages to escape her prison (thanks to technology!)
but intercepts an invitation from Trevor. They arrange a meeting
and sparks fly between the two… for a short period of
time that is – Aeon manages to choke Goodchild mid-coitus,
but he survives. From here the mission gets a tad complicated:
the Monicans manage to find out about Aeon and Trevor’s
relationship and decide to do away with the sympathizer. Simultaneously,
the government has decided to remove Trevor from power and
now they’re out for the kill as well. Now it’s
both Aeon and Trevor’s job to take down the government
while avoiding the Monican’s own firepower.
So yeah. As an adaptation of the Aeon
Flux cartoon, the film manages to nail a great look for
the film, to port over a surprising amount of characters,
and has a comparable amount of action (at least, in comparison
to the 30-minute cartoon, which was admittedly  watered
down in the transition from the short films to the full-length
spinoff). But the important elements of the animated series
that made it so individual and interesting are completely
removed from the film version. Subtext, ambiguity and sexuality
are nearly nonexistent – for example, Trevor Goodchild
in the cartoon is a madman out to see his way of thinking
turned into reality. In the film version, Goodchild is simply
a misunderstood hero – not even an anti-hero, just a hero. Aeon’s back-story involving her murdered sister
humanizes her, which is exactly what shouldn’t be happening. There isn’t even a single amputee in this
movie!
Also painfully gone is the sense of humor that the original
series had. While the show wasn’t howlingly funny, there
was an undercurrent of sardonic wit that would pop up from
time to time. Aeon Flux the movie is strictly
a dour affair that brings down any possibility of smiles.
But if you were to take your mind off the fact that
this film is an adaptation of a wildly elusive animated series
and judge the film on its own, Aeon Flux will probably satiate the need for big, dumb action and dry,
synthetic plot.
Plus, you know… Hot girls kicking ass.
Presentation
This DVD features a decent
video transfer that conveys the visual style fairly well,
though color-wise the reds seem to be a bit boosted –
skin tones seems to come off a tad too red at times. This
might be intentional due to the film’s hyper color palette,
or it might simply be because futuristic fascist dystopias
do not follow the rules of color convention. Paramount provides
a 5.1 surround mix that blasts out high-energy electronic
music and explosions throughout the entire film. Also provided
are a more front-heavy stereo surround mix and a 5.1 French
mix. No matter what you pick, each will provide you with the
appropriate amount of ass kicking.
Extras
Not one, but two commentaries await those who are interested in the making of the film.
Though the commentary with Charlize Theron and producer
Gale Anne Hurd is dry and skippable, the commentary
with co-screenwriters Phil Hay and Matt Manfredimanages
to be light and informative, pointing out the homages to the
animated series, scenes that were removed from the final cut
and struggles with the script. If you found the film to be
a frustrating experience, this track will probably help sort
things out for you.
In
addition to the two commentaries, you will find five separate
mini-documentaries in the special features area of the disc.
Creating
A World: Aeon Flux is a twenty-minute segment that covers
the evolution of the feature, the creation of the world that
the characters inhabit, and the attempts to make the film
more individual, from hiring people not familiar with the
original material, to the organic nature of Bregna.
 The
Locations of Aeon Flux covers the struggle to find a
perfect area to shoot the film. Deciding to fall back on actual
locations that feature such interesting architecture initially
led the production to the capital city of Brazil, but when
that fell through it was off to Germany, including areas that
had never been filmed up to now (kind of sad considering it’s Aeon Flux), and various locations that were
once occupied by The Third Reich. Pleasant!
The
Stunts of Aeon Flux covers Charlize Theron’s physical
transformation into the Aeon Flux character, despite an injury
that apparently involved landing on her goddamn neck.
This segment also features as many references to the movie Monster as possible, I guess in order to
re-assure themselves that this film is an important move in
Theron’s post-Oscar canon.
The
Costume Design Workshop of Aeon Flux takes a closer look
at the little flourishes in the fashion, which includes socks
going over shoes. The future sure is a wacky place!
The
last feature is both the shortest and least interesting of
the bunch. The Craft of the Set Photographer on Aeon Flux is a scant three-and-a-half minutes and features the set photographer
rambling about his equipment, and how every picture is a potential
poster. This feature gives a look at a few on-set photographs
– a film like this is dying for some real photo galleries,
but sadly comes with none.
Rounding
out the disc is the theatrical trailer for the film,
and a collection of previews for Mission
Impossible 3, South Park: Season 7,
and Neil Young: Heart of Gold.
Overall
Aeon Flux is going to work best with teenagers
who aren’t familiar with the cartoon. Fans of the original
animated series will probably throw their arms up in horror.
It’s obvious: if you’re someone who hasn’t
bothered picking up on the original series and has a thirst
for girls with stylish hair and guns, you might as well check
it out. If you’re one of those people who have been
sitting on a stack of old tapes, you might want to pretend
this never happened.
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