Film Review: Æon Flux (2005)
Films which production provides good fun and leaves pleasant memories for cast and crew members are usually those that later disappoint audience and critics. Conversely, films whose production is plagued by technical problems, arguments, fights, illnesses, injuries, and similar events usually end up being good fun for viewers on screen. However, this rule has its exceptions, at least when it comes to Charlize Theron and Æon Flux, a sci-fi action film that brought severe neck injury to the popular actress during production.
Things didn’t look good even after production. Æon Flux wasn’t screened for the critics by Paramount Pictures before its debut in US theatres, which was clear sign that the studio had feared negative reviews. That fear ultimately proved justified. The film was also rejected by general audience, and especially by the fans of the original animated series that had gained cult status after airing on MTV in the 1990s.
The plot takes is set in the year 2415, or four centuries after an unknown disease that has wiped out 99% of humanity. Survivors have retreated to a specially built city called Bregna, where they enjoy seemingly utopian benefits from super technology, but under increasingly authoritarian rule by Trevor Goodchild (played by Marton Csokas). A resistance movement called Monicans was formed in opposition to him, and whose most dangerous member is Æon Flux (played by Charlize Theron), further motivated for the fight after the death of her sister Una (played by Amelia Warner). However, when she gets the chance to kill Goodchild, she discovers that the true background of events in Bregna is much more complex than she had assumed.
Æon Flux is a better film than its infamous reputation would suggest, but viewers will still feel disappointed by the end credits. The main reason is that director Karyn Kusama and producer Gale Anne Hurd (known for her work on The Terminator, Aliens, and launching James Cameron's career) have taken the film too seriously in terms of its emotional roots, trying to package it as a spectacular but content-light entertainment for underage teenagers and similar demographic groups associated with MTV. On the other hand, the script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi had some pretty good, occasionally original ideas that could have been turned into a full-fledged and serious science fiction film.
However, all of this is buried under an avalanche of action scenes whose spectacular nature is wasted due to MTV-style editing that does not allow viewers to understand what is actually happening on screen. The same can be said for Charlize Theron's athletic abilities as well as the entire ensemble cast whose talent has been squandered. Great actress should have risked her life and health for something better.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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