Babylon A.D. Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

Not exactly Babylon

Fraught with delays and problems during production, Babylon AD is perhaps better known for the fact that it's own director, Mathieu Kassovitz, slammed the film before release, labeling it as little more than a 'bad episode of 24'. Due to alleged interference from Twentieth Century Fox the original script was severely cut by as much as 70 minutes to bring it into the hour and a half bracket. And it shows, with a disparate and at times perplexing pace that clearly leaves a lot unsaid. But despite this there is still the shadow of what the film could have been, and is worth a rental if you're a fan of Sci-Fi, though if you're not it may be better to give this one a miss.

Based on the 1999 book 'Babylon Babies' by Maurice Georges Dantec, Babylon AD is about one man's struggle to stay alive when he accepts a mission to escort a young girl to America. But as expected the mission isn't so straight forward, and the mercenary Toorop soon finds that his young charge is far more than she seems. Sadly what exactly she 'is' is not explained very well through the course of the film and instead of developing the story the film runs through a serious of action sequences (some more impressive than others) before hurtling at light speed to a rather disappointing ending. And this is where the cuts are very obvious: within the space of around ten minutes the protagonists go from a submarine under the ice, to a jet ski battle, before suddenly coming to an upmarket apartment in New York. Whew!

Overall Babylon Ad isn't as bad as some have made out (even the director) but thats only if you're willing to forgive it's glaring problems. Vin Diesel puts in a decent performance, though is starting to look a lot more wrinkly around the edges. Michelle Yeoh gives a similar performance to her other films (which is no bad thing) and Melanie Thierry is perfect as the innocent wide eyed charge put into Vin's care. But there's definitely been a missed opportunity here and we can only hope that a directors cut will make it's way to DVD in the future. Then we may see what this story really has to give.

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[Highly rated reviewer]

Coulod have been so much better

The story is good and Vin Diesel is as hot as ever. The special eefects and decors are very good as well. However the action scenes are horrible because of the camera cuts. Instead of concentrating on one character for some time in order to see the moves it jumps from one person to another and you don't see anything.

This is very frustrating and even though it creates a chaos that represents the situation in which our heroes are, it also makes it very hard to follow.

The other thing that is bad is the ending. Suddenly they jump the story several months into the future and then several years with no explanation of what happenned in between.

The 1st scene in the future, without giving too much spoiler doesn't explain the why for her.

The 2nd scene in the future doesn't explain how they managed this and all is well.

First 45 minutes are ok, but then it collapses

This film starts pretty good. Nothing original, but still holds promise.

Kind of a cross between the 5th Element and Triple X.

The film has been edited and cut to pieces, to the point where the final 30 minutes makes you ask yourself 'What's going on? Oh, hang on, do I actually care anymore?'

Having read the trvia page on IMDB for this film, you can read that it ran heavily over schedule and was sliced and diced by the studio's editors.

However, the best peice of triva is when it says the film was not aired for US Critics. Says it all really!

One to avoid.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Unoriginal Tosh

I saw the trailer for this movie, and thought that looks pish. Unfortunately i still spent money on this woeful effort which directly borrows from the superior Children of Men, (because the trailer looked to have some good effects in it). The effects don't really get going till the last 40 minutes, so you have to wait and get all the politics out the way, before the action gets underway. My summary of the film is thus:

The acting is woeful, the action is unengaging, the direction is lousy and the characterisations are as bad as the acting, at least the cinematorgraphy was decent.

One final note is Michelle Yeoh needs to get her agent fired for doing generic tosh like this and the mummy 3, she is a much better actress than that.

Lets just leave it there.

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AD should stand for absolutely dull

In a bleak future of advancing technology and contracting borders, mercenary Toorop (Vin Diesel) accepts a dangerous assignment to escort a young woman (Mélanie Thierry) and her guardian (Michelle Yeoh) from Russia to New York.

Big question: When a movie is trashed by its own director what hope does it have with critics or audiences?

Skip it: It’s no surprise that the movie is bad and offers nothing of value to paying customers, but director Mathieu Kassovitz’s complaints of unfair studio interference might earn more sympathy if he wasn’t also responsible for the equally inane Halle Berry thriller “Gothika.” And if he hadn’t signed on to a movie with Diesel, whose leading man stature remains utterly baffling, as the star.

Catch it: To ponder why a classy, appealing asskicker like Yeoh can’t find a movie worthy of her talents.

Bottom line: No matter who’s really to blame, it’s easy to understand why Kassovitz would want to distance himself from what’s on screen. A few sleek visuals and nifty sci-fi concepts are lost among senseless action, a poorly shaped narrative and an abundance of clichés that make the movie come off like an amped-up and dumbed-down imitation of “Children of Men”—one that’s simultaneously more expensive, yet better suited for the bargain DVD bin.

Bonus: Toorop offers this piece of advice early on: “You need two things to survive in this business: your balls and your word.” Apparently that might also be true if you’re making a movie with 20th Century Fox.

[Highly rated reviewer]

A Fine Tale

I thought this film was absolutely brilliant from start to finish. The film started well showing the dark surroundings of the world Vin Diesels character resides in. The start showed the gritty side of the future and how the people living within were. The film quickly draws into the story as Vin is drafted by an overlord to take a package to America and stop for nothing. So Vin sets out. He soon learns the package a girl carries secrets of her own pushing further into more twists. Once he flees to America after a gruelling journey filled with betrayal. Vin steps into a deeper cooperate war. The film shows a future that’s very believable and realistic the effects are good the acting is good and the fight scenes are as realistic as a typical sci fi film gets. I Enjoyed the story a lot and rate this film as a good choice. But it also depends on your favourite genre and tastes for the dark and gritty. If you like main stream sci fi then perhaps its best to avoid the film. But if you like the darkside of sci fi and love a good action film I strongly recommend this film.

But as with all films its not for everyone so maybe its best yo watch the trailer first and get an insight into the Babylon A.D.

FANTASTIC!

Not my cup of tea but still throughly enjoyed it!!

Vin Diesel's presence certainly helps!

Babylon C.P

What a waste of time. Totally lame. Stuiped movie. Avoid.

not bad

not a bad film but has a very daft ending that does not make sense . might be number 2

why babylon a.d

The movie was cool and the fact that Vin diesel was in it probably made me like the movie a bit more that if it was a different actor. Its watchable