Æon Flux
Published by Kaonashi September 27th, 2006 in Action, Film Adaptation, Sci-Fi.
Title: Æon Flux
Year: 2005
Director: Karyn Kusama
Starring Cast: Charlize Theron, Martin Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller
Rated: PG-13
NoFace for Film rating: 3.5 out of 7
My boyfriend likes watching movies with ass-kicking chicks. I don’t mind them myself, but in my case, I do like having some semblance of a plot. But let’s face it- most movies with ass-kicking chicks don’t have a plot and are just a lame excuse to show the girl in tight and revealing clothes “fighting”, which usually consists of one lame karate kick after the other (e.g., Michelle Yeoh’s wasted talents in Tommorow Never Dies)
Therefore, when he suggested several times to rent Æon Flux, you can bet that I was skeptical of the movie. Charlize Theron running around in a black catsuit killing people? Lots of CGI? Futuristic society? Ho hum. But since I forced him to watch Rent (which he liked in the end!) I figured that I owed him one.
Æon Flux is based on the old MTV animated series with the same name. It’s the future, several hundred years after a devastating plague killed most of the Earth’s population. The survivors have been living in one city ever since, fearing what’s outside their walls. It is a utopian society, where everyone is pretty, wearing colorful clothes, and eating good food.
But of course, science fiction law (as determined by Orwell’s 1984) mandates that whenever you have a perfect society, it’s actually corrupt or flawed in some way, and there are a small band of rebels who want to expose the truth and put an end to the lies. I swear, I am so sick of these movies with the “corrupt utopian society” and the “band of rebels”. Just once I’d like to see a movie in which the futuristic utopian society is fine the way it is and no one’s trying to change it.
Naturally, the band of rebels (called the Monicans) have their fighters and assassins. Æon (Theron) is a super-mega-ultimate assassin, and her latest order is to kill Trevor Goodchild (Csokas), the leader of the city. Obviously, things don’t pan out as they should, or it would be a really short movie. A mystery is revealed, and Æon is caught in the middle of it. If you’ve seen enough of these science fiction movies, you can probably guess the twist maybe a third into the movie, especially since there’s a clue at the start (Hint: It’s when an old man screams in horror as a little girl walks by).
Visually, Æon Flux is stunning. The colors are vibrant (again emphasizing the “perfect society” thing), and the CGI looks really cool. The stunts are also pretty cool, but sometimes are kind of cheesy. Acting-wise, it’s ok, though two-time Oscar winner Theron sometimes overdoes the “dangerous femme” routine. It sometimes reminded me of Sharon Stone’s awful acting in The Quick and the Dead. Great movie, but I just couldn’t take Stone’s badass, unsmiling attitude seriously. It was almost the same for Theron in some scenes. The girl should stick to dramas and leave the ass-kicking roles to Angelina Jolie, who looks like she can kick anyone’s ass in real life. Csokas is ok as the endangered Goodchild, and Miller does well as Trevor’s brother with a hidden agenda, Oren.
Æon Flux is not something I’d run to my computer to Netflix. It’s something I’d maybe catch on HBO if I was bored and was in the need of a fun sci-fi flick.
Æon Flux, MTV, Charlize Theron, Martin Csokas, utopian society, ass-kicking chicks,
4 Responses to “Æon Flux ”
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When I first heard about this movie, I really wanted to see it, but after hearing the reviews, I thought I would wait until, like you said, catch it on HBO.
Winona Ryder’s “psychopathic tendencies” helped the actress land a starring role in director Daniel Waters’ forthcoming movie.
Waters, who worked with the actress on the film Heathers, says Ryder was the perfect choice to play a psychopathic character in his new film, Sex And Death 101.
He says, “I needed a psychopath who was sweet, warm, and funny - and that’s basically Winona. She’s like an Audrey Hepburn that’s been dropped off the table and has a crack in it.”
very good story. Thx very much.
God site. Thanks!