OPENS: August 29, 2008
Rating: PG-13 (Intense violence, Language)
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Starring: Vin Diesel, Gerard Depardieu
“Veteran-turned-mercenary Thoorop takes the high-risk job of escorting a woman from Russia to America. Little does he know that she is host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified Messiah,” or so say the studio teasers.
“Ugh,” or so say the critics – well those who saw it. The studio refused to have advance screenings for film critics – usually a sign a film is a dud.
The movie’s director, Mathieu Kassovitz agrees. as reported by the Reelz Channel:
”I’m very unhappy with the film,” Kassovitz ranted to AMC. “I never had a chance to do one scene the way it was written or the way I wanted it to be. The script wasn’t respected. Bad producers, bad partners, it was a terrible experience.”
Kassovitz, who described parts of the movie as “like a bad episode of 24,” places the blame squarely on the shoulder of studio backer 20th Century Fox. Fox, ironically, also happens to produce TV’s 24.
Look on the bright side, sci-fi fans: Babylon A.D. may not be the second coming of Blade Runner, but it should provide for the best DVD director’s commentary ever.
Mainstream film critics agree.
WATCH THE TRAILER
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- Great well-known and loved cast.
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- The movie’s director has trashed the film, saying the studio hacked the heart out of it.
- Disjointed characters and plot.
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"More inert than argon gas and given over to obvious directorial hissy fits, Babylon A.D. is like a bad dream a cyberpunk once had” – Bill Gibron
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“French director Kassiovitz himself has decried the theatrical cut of Babylon A.D., and watching the film it’s easy to understand why: whole chunks of plot, much less their explanation, have clearly been excised.” – Todd Gilchrist
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“Fans of Pitch Black, hoping Diesel would reprise the stone-faced Richard Riddick role here will be disappointed.” – Jordan Mintzer
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