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109 out of 125 people found the following comment useful :-
Could have been good until the studio destroyed it..., 3 September 2008

Author: Michael DeZubiria (miked32@hotmail.com) from Luoyang, China

My first reaction to Babylon A.D. was that it's not nearly as bad as its own director, Matthieu Kassovitz, has been claiming it is, although that reaction came to me before I got to the end of the movie. The movie has a cool set-up and a few good action sequences, although they suffer from that all too modern symptom of having been put together by editors who must have been on some kind of amphetamines. Like so many other recent action films (Death Race, for example), the fight scenes and chase scenes and whatnot are cut together so fast that they fly by with dizzying speed, and you move on with the rest of the movie with only a vague impression of what just happened.

Vin Diesel stars as Toorop, a hardened loner of a mercenary whose latest mission is to escort a mysterious young woman from a convent in Russia to America (where he is listed as a terrorist), although like so much of the rest of the movie, we never learn why. Michelle Yeoh comes across as a bizarre casting decision for a bizarre character. She plays Sister Rebekah, Aurora's guardian. This woman I just don't get. She's Chinese and plays a kung-fu fighting nun in Russia.

She and Toorop have an immediate power struggle, and then during the mission Aurora exhibits more and more strange powers and abilities. She can feel other people's pain, she can operate old submarines, and can predict the future. The rest of the movie is basically Toorop's mission to get her to New York alive, avoiding the mysterious figures pursuing her for their own agenda, and figure out what's wrong with her along the way.

The movie moves along from one on-location set piece to the next, with action scenes and fights popping up out of nowhere and then wrapping up nicely as our heroes rush off screen to the next set. But I would argue that at least most of the action is fun along the way.

Unfortunately, I happened to have learned before watching the movie that a 160-minute version would be released in Europe, compared to the 90-minute version I just saw, and let me tell you, you can really feel the blank spots. There is, for example, a major, major plot development revealed in the third act of the movie that is so bizarre that it's almost like someone slipped in a page from a completely different movie. It comes from nowhere and goes nowhere, and adds nothing to the movie except provides a spot to slide in the ending, which leaves you with the feeling that the writer was hit by a truck or they ran out of money or just lost interest. The end is so sudden and so witless that the movie immediately transformed in my mind into an endless maze of loose ends and confusion.

There is a brief scene in the movie where Sister Rebekah explains hers and Aurora's history to Toorop, but it doesn't explain anything and doesn't really matter anyway, because the story is so clearly just a backdrop to the futuristic landscapes and the cookie cutter fight scenes, many of which are hilarious in their badness. There is one scene, for example, where the trio outrun not only a couple of what look like futuristic Stealth bombers, but also their missiles, and they do it on snowmobiles!

I don't think we ever learn the exact time period, but the futuristic element of the film is badly incoherent. New York City is jam-packed with neon advertisement, fold-out road maps are like Google Maps on paper and touch sensitive, and taxis have scrolling message boards on their sides, but Coke Zero is still around and advertising on passenger jets and the bad guys drive vintage, mint-condition 2008 Range Rovers. They must really like classic cars.

I have to say that Babylon A.D. left me with the feeling that it could have and should have been so much better than it was, and I'm guessing that was the money-hungry hand of the studio that swept away all of the good parts of the movie. I'm hoping that when Babylon DVD comes along it will include the uncut, 160-minute version that the Europeans saw, along with an explanation of why it was so badly butchered before released to American audiences. At any rate, any Director's Cut is sure to be a different movie entirely. I recommend waiting for it.

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98 out of 123 people found the following comment useful :-
A mess, 3 September 2008
Author: seawalker from Birmingham, England

I like Vin Diesel. Even if he is not flavour of the month anymore, if he ever was, I make no apologies for that statement. I have a story I would like to share.

In 2002, after the release of "Pitch Black" and "xXx", and even though I was possibly too old to indulge in such childishness, I wrote Vin a fan letter. I expressed my admiration for his work and politely requested an autograph on a magazine, featuring Vin on the cover, that I had enclosed with a stamped addressed envelope. A month later the magazine arrived back and it had been autographed.

I have no idea if the autograph is genuine. It may well have been signed by Vin Diesel, or maybe it was just signed by somebody in Vin Diesel's office. I will never know. Do you know what? I don't care. Somebody went to the effort to send that autograph to me for that I think that Vin is sound, is cool and I give him much respect.

I just wish that Vin appeared in better movies. This brings us to "Babylon A.D.".

Good things. The presentation of the near future world in "Babylon A.D." is beautifully done. Compare and contrast the difference between the collapsing, grunge-like, shabby Eastern Bloc, with the hi-tech, neon lit New York. Very well put together. "Babylon A.D." also has a really intriguing cast (Charlotte Rampling, Mark Strong, Michelle Yeoh, Gérard Depardieu), some good action sequences and an interesting, if derivative, plot.

Bad things. "Babylon A.D." is a mess. There is evidence of extensive tampering with and shortening of the movie in the editing suite. (I read one rumour that 70 minutes had been cut from the movie, although the Director claims that this was more like 15 minutes.) The ending is absolutely awful and apparently not the one that the Director intended.

Director Mathieu Kassovitz has mostly disowned "Babylon A.D.", calling it a movie of 'pure violence and stupidity'. There is nothing wrong with cinematic 'pure violence and stupidity' as such, but I for one would like to have seen Mathieu Kassovitz's original vision. It could have been great.

Such a shame. I have always felt that Vin Diesel could have been the new Stallone, but bad choices have turned him into new Van Damme.

Still, "Babylon A.D." is currently the #2 film at the US Box Office, so what do I know?

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84 out of 110 people found the following comment useful :-
Not That Bad... Not That Great, But Not Bad, 30 August 2008

Author: Brandon from United States

It was decent. The action sequences were definitely a bit choppy, especially the first one. Also, there were a few times when I had to go "Is that even physically possible?" and the ending left a few loose ends still left, so I was sort of disappointed with that.

If you don't pay attention, you will hate this movie. It moves fairly quickly, so once you miss something, it's gone and you will be lost. So pay attention. The story is actually pretty good and actually feels down to earth, which is more than I can say about quite a few sci-fi movies.

For the record, I went into this movie not expecting much more than average, and I was slightly surprised. If you go in expecting the next academy award winner, you will completely despise it. It is no Dark Knight, so don't expect it to be. There's not much there artistically, so, if you don't like a movie simply trying to be entertaining for the sake of being entertaining, then you won't like this one. All in all, it was a good watch, not entirely worth the price for a new movie, so I suggest waiting until it comes to the cheaper theaters (if you have one near by).

As another note (and I'll probably get some heat for this) I actually enjoy Vin Diesel as an actor. This is not his best performance, but it's certainly not his worst (even though I still moderately enjoyed Chronicles of Riddick, I admit it was pretty bad and to this day I still don't know why I like it.) I think Diesel is good at what he does, although he really hasn't been in anything that really blows me away, even my favorite Diesel film (Pitch Black) wasn't completely stunning, but it was really good. With that in mind, this is a Vin Diesel movie, so, if you're not like me and you don't like Diesel, you will not like this movie and should just steer clear of it.

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36 out of 48 people found the following comment useful :-
Babylonga A.D. I'd like to call it, 6 September 2008

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

I had the opportunity to see Babylon A.D. today and just decided to go ahead and give it a chance, from the trailer it didn't look so bad. I know a lot of people have a thing against Vin Diesel, but I don't think the guy is so bad, he makes a great action hero and also makes a lot of movies very entertaining. Just look at the Fast and the Furios as well as XXX, you have to admit those movies would be nothing without him. But we have Babylon A.D. now, a lot of my co-workers at my theater warned me that it was pretty bad, but like I said, some people just judge too harshly, I just wanted to see it for myself. Sadly, they were right, the first hour actually had me, I was like "Are they crazy? This movie is pretty decent..." then the ending happened, well, what ending? This film felt so rushed, I was expecting a narrator to speak over and say "Sorry folks, we forget to tell you about the sub plot".

Toorop is a mercenary who has just been given an assignment, it seems pretty simple, he just has to deliver a girl from Russia to New York City, unfortunately, it's not that easy. In a world where you have to be a strong person to survive, this girl is something special, with her protector, Rebeka, Toorop leads them to New York discovering that the girl, Aurora, is pregnant with twins that are going to save the world, but they can't discover who to trust since everyone is pulling them in different directions on who will kill her or who wants her alive.

Babylon A.D. is just poorly put together. While I think it was an interesting story, it just could have been so much better and should have been told more properly. Sadly, the only character that we really get to know is just Toorup, who is played by Vin Diesel, he is the only one with depth, while they could have had a little focus on the girl, Aurora, how did she get her powers or was she really ill? What was the history and was she destined for all of what happened to her with her children? There were so many questions that were left unanswered. Over all, this isn't a terrible movie, but I would say definitely to wait for the rental, because while the effects are very good and the whole setting is disturbing, it's the story that leaves you dumbfounded and just bummed that the story ended the way it did.

4/10

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53 out of 84 people found the following comment useful :-
Incredibly Disappointing Movie, 30 August 2008

Author: spiderman112004 from United States

Wow, i don't even know where to start. I'd first like to say that,im usually generous and optimistic when i see movies, and usually films my friends say suck, i say they are okay, or when my friends say they are okay, i say it was great...This one failed in 2 very important aspects of storytelling. One, they were confused as to what the climax really was and two, there's no resolution or their pathetic excuse for one was terrible. I don't know whether they are setting up for a sequel or what but the ending was laughable(literally people laughed at the ending). Its all disappointing because the movie looked liked it had potential. the acting was average, but i didn't expect much from vin diesel and Michelle Yeoh did a decent job, other then that wait to this hits USA or TBS, don't even rent it from blockbuster, its not worth it.

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53 out of 85 people found the following comment useful :-
Sadly average, 25 August 2008

Author: bladou from Paris, France

I should say first that I don't know the book this movie is adapted from, so I just mean to give an opinion on the movie itself and the way it's handled.

Director Mathieu Kassovitz has been in the business for a while now and is a well complete actor as well and still something about this project went wrong. The story itself seems solid - and somewhat I can imagine the book being just great - but the movie looks rushed with only the most important and visual parts shown.

Actually, it's a kind of annoying experience as you can see how really good it could have been if they only did a better job on the background and the storytelling instead of mixing everything from the book in an action packed movie. Now being totally honest, the action isn't great at all thanks to the shaky hand cam effect (The Bourne Legacy I guess ...) and uninspired choreography. Same goes for the acting : Depardieu and Wilson are easily the worst : they would have read the script for the first time it wouldn't have surprise me.

Considering all the good material it certainly feels like a misproduction, someone said the director and actor Vin Diesel were having different opinions and I do hope the latter won because if Kassovitz did it the way he wanted I'd be really disappointed.

We've been awarded with such great movies around the same kind of subject (Children of Men to name one) that this one seems pale compared to those.

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20 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
The perfect example of suit and tie butchery., 8 September 2008

Author: SusurrusKarma from United Kingdom

There's a lot to be said for a movie that has its director up in arms claiming that he hates his own creation before it has even been released, and while it's hard to escape the film-makers statements whilst watching, you can't help but feel sympathetic for such a person. Babylon A.D. is the perfect example of suit and tie butchery; an artistic, intelligent piece of work obviously dragged down in the cutting room into an incoherent, clunkering mix of the genuinely interesting and the downright mundane. Suffering from narrative that jumps about far too often to sustain a sense of linear storytelling and character, plus boasting action scenes which, to be fair, deliver lukewarm entertainment at best, this latest offering –or butchered vision- from director Mathieu Kassovitz is flawed, but not to point of absolute disaster. Of course it's hard to determine whether the director's personal vision would have been any better, but there's no denying the moments here that do shine well above all the others.

In between the stunted narrative and storytelling lies an interesting, socially relevant and viscerally compelling vision of a post apocalyptic dystopian future riving with ugly survivalists out only or themselves. Taken from the perspective of all the other dystopian, science fiction action movies, Babylon A.D. hardly does anything of an innovative or groundbreaking nature, but its visuals and consistently moody tone resonates throughout the film, creating an intriguing palette of colours to watch. Nevertheless, although Kassovitz doesn't necessarily cover any new ground, he does what is expected in this area with enough of a vision, and a sense of coherency that far outshines the rest of the feature. To be sure it's no Blade Runner in terms of innovation, but the style that is present here is highly reminiscent of Ridley Scott's masterpiece, only without the flying cars and far advanced technology; it's a dark, moody and unpleasant world, stricken by poverty and the backlash of nuclear war, and Kazzovitz makes sure to always make it interesting with the help of Thierry Arbogast's poignant photography punctuated with Atli Örvarsson's tragically sombre score.

Of course a film that is all about its sets and special effects is hardly a movie at all, so it's relieving that despite certain missteps, there are also many elements that further these themes and tones outside of the aesthetics. Lead character Toorop (Vin Diesel) is a perfect example of how such an environment can completely embody a character, and Diesel is just the man to do it. Hard headed, intolerant, brash, and street wise, Toorop is a grizzled mercenary, sent on a mission to escort a girl named Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) to New York, all details naturally withheld. Aurora is almost the antithesis of Toorop; warm, gentle and sheltered from the ugly world outside her convent, she off-balances the soldier well enough to stop the feature from getting too wooden. Both actors manage to strike up enough conviction in their roles to sustain compelling characterisation when it is allowed, and as a result, an engaging character story within this incredibly distant world is realised.

Unfortunately however such elements quickly go to waste after the first act when those in charge of cutting and pasting start to go wild. Being thrown around like ragdolls, these characters soon find themselves in all sorts of elaborate action scenes; some which work nicely enough, but most of which feel contrived to point of absolute absurdity. A key example of this lies in the middle of the feature where we go from a submarine, to a snowmobile chase with Cylon-look-a-like jets, to a hotel room in the space of ten minutes. Jarring would be an understatement. Yet this example is just one of very many that only seems to increase exponentially as the movie wears onto its anti-climactic, ridiculous ending. There's no pacing, no momentum and more importantly, no consistency of tone, characterisation or narrative; it's just a bumbling mess of drama-action-drama-action that reeks of terrible, misinformed editing processed by a studio unconvinced of the original cut's ability to pull in the cash.

Conclusively it would seem that director Mathieu Kassovitz made the right, artistically driven decision in detaching himself from the final cut of what was no doubt a proud vision of his. Yet blessed with the director's ability to bring out some fitting performances and craft a world that jumps out of the screen, provoking thought about civilisation and humanity, key elements of his vision still remain under the ruins created by the lazy editing. One can only hope that Kassovitz gets to take part in the latest trend and have his own cut released on DVD in the future, but for now I cannot recommend paying money to see this. Filled with some fresh, well conceived ideas and themes, all focusing around compelling characters, Babylon A.D. is a mixed bag of great moments with terrible ones (and quite possibly the worst ending of 2008), all sequenced together incoherently and without any feel for pacing or focused structure. It's a cinematic Frankenstein; powerful and with meaning at its core but put together with little care for its inherent substance within. There's value here, but you'll have to look deep and would be best leaving ten minutes early.

- Written by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)

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43 out of 76 people found the following comment useful :-
Le sigh..., 29 August 2008

Author: Get_Off_Spys_Lawn from United States

I'm not much of a Vin Diesel fan, I'll be the first to admit. I will admit, that I enjoyed the first Fast/Furious movie and The Pacifier, as well as Triple X. He's exactly what you ask for in an action hero...but here, in this jumbled mess of a futuristic thriller, Diesel sinks his own vehicle with bland, unlikable, and just flat out detached performance.

First off, Babylon begs three questions: 1) what did director Mathieu Kassovitz do to make the studio so mad, 2) what is Gerard Depardeau doing in this movie, and 3) what happened to Vin Diesel's career? I'll answer all of those. Except number 2. I have no idea what he was thinking.

Director Kassovitz is certainly talented - there's no denying that. There are some moments where the film shines with beautiful shots, decent visuals, and some daring moves from the director of Gothika, but in the end, the editing process is so obviously influenced by the studio wanting to tone down the movie and keep it 'simple' that it really hurt the movie in the end, and it's very easy to see why the director is mad. If the movie has a director's cut, I'll give it another shot on DVD.

Vin, Vin, Vin...what happened, buddy? Five years ago you were the KING of action, and now...ugh. Diesel needs the next Fast and Furious movie to be awesome...for his credibility's sake. Scratch that. He just needs it, okay? I really felt no attachment to his character in this, even though you're supposed to go on this transcontinental adventure with him and feel what he feels, that's totally impossible because Diesel allows no room to feel what he's thinking. Michelle Yeoh, always the bright spot of movies, is a healthy addition to the film, while Melanie Thierry is absolutely gorgeous (so no complaints here). Again, I have no idea what some people were thinking. *slaps Gerard Depardeau and Charlotte Rampling*

The film is more of an apocalyptic thriller than an action thriller, and delves in to the realm of science fiction more than a few times. I especially liked Kassovitz's vision of a futuristic New York. Though not as scary as Francis Lawrence's vision in 'I Am Legend', it was still pretty dark, brooding, and intense. What action is in the movie is exciting. Though the snowmobile chase sort of came out of nowhere, it was still well done. It seems as if Vin has to have something like that in all of his films.

All in all, Babylon A.D. serves as a great example as to why studios are losing their minds *glares at the people who made Disaster Movie*, and should just let the directors and actors do their jobs correctly. There's a longer cut of this movie, I'm sure of it, and that cut will have better action, more development, and more explanation for the seemingly mind boggling events in the film. If said longer cut comes out, I'll give it a chance, and you should too. My real meaning? Wait for the DVD if you're interested at least a little.

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40 out of 71 people found the following comment useful :-
Babylon A.D.D., 2 September 2008

Author: borchardt_michael from United States

Wtf.

Do you like headaches? Do you wake up everyday saying "Today sure is a great day to see a movie that could have been great, but I'd rather be confused!" Well then go see this movie! I don't really know what else to say, you can't really rate a movie as good, or bad, unless there is a movie to rate. It was so jumbled around with drastic scene changes, a plot that you don't even understand at the end of the movie, and uhhh, be prepared to be in an altered state of mind when you go to see it, maybe then you'll think you get it. Otherwise you're gonna hate this movie.

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34 out of 61 people found the following comment useful :-
"Babylon A.D." means..., 31 August 2008

Author: jon.h.ochiai (jochiai@socal.rr.com) from Los Angeles, CA

Vin Diesel's star vehicle "Babylon A.D." was not screened for critics prior to release. This is usually the syndrome of cinematic demise. Surprisingly, "Babylon A.D." is a competent action movie with a compelling enough futuristic messiah story by Director Mathieu Kassovitz, Eric Besnard, and Joseph Simas. This is not a stretch for Vin Diesel, who is charismatic enough to carry the movie. However, the one thing that still escapes me is the title: "Babylon A.D". After having seen the movie, I remain without a clue. Perhaps, I have to wait for the extras in the DVD release, or not. Obviously, "Babylon A.D." slid under the promotional radar. Also despite decent production value, producers apparently filmed the movie in the Czech Republic, Sweden, and France to reduce costs. Although a fan of Vin, I really was curious about "Babylon A.D.", because of Michelle Yeoh. I am a big fan of Yeoh ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Mummy 3"). Yeoh is beautiful and always plays strong, smart, and understated. She is a distinct strength as Sister Rebeka.

Despite itself "Babylon A.D.", ultimately works as a hero tale with the presence of Vin Diesel. In an almost incongruously touching moment in the icy tundra Melanie Thierry's Aurora asks Diesel's Toorop, "You're risking your life for me. Why?" Toroop confides "I'm tired…" He has done his share of atrocity in his life, and this may be his last grasp at redemption. He must choose whether he has "A choice to make a difference or to walk away and save yourself…" Director Kassovitz's screenplay is based on the novel by Maurice G. Dantec. Given the briefness of "Babylon A.D." which has a 90 minute running time, one wonders what was jettisoned. I suspect the original story was not exactly tailored as an action movie—the narrative is nearly minimalist. Our hero Diesel plays soldier turned mercenary Toorop, who lives in the not too distant existential future. Toorop agrees to deliver a young girl from a remote convent in Mongolia to New York City. It is unclear what value or threat she poses. The High Priestess (scary Charlotte Rampling) of the religious Neolites is intent on possessing the girl for her own means. Toorop arrives at the convent to escort Aurora (stunning beauty Thierry). Her protector Sister Rebeka (Yeoh) reminds Toorop that he must abide by 3 rules, including no foul language. Toorop tells Rebeka, "Don't f--- with me." The innocent Aurora asks "Are you a killer, Mr. Toorop?" He replies "Yes." Aurora is strangely aware of the future. Her keeper Rebeka reminds Toorop that she is "peaceful, not weak". Rebeka is a deadly martial artist. Also seeking to obtain Aurora is her mysterious father (Joel Kirby). Aurora holds the key to the future of the world.

What ensues is measured violence and betrayal all cloaked in this global conspiracy. Kassovitz orchestrates the brutal cage fighting club mayhem. And the cathartic automatic weapons showdown in New York is striking and dramatic. Diesel brings his action A-game. Michelle Yeoh is powerful and graceful in her martial arts display. Young Thierry is effective in revealing a deceptively powerful presence.

In the end "Babylon A.D." gives us the deserved payoff. The movie works really on a visceral level, not necessarily entrenched in logic. There are some gaping narrative fissures. Then again—big deal. The movie is entertaining. Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh are strong. Take a chance on "Babylon A.D." Then tell me what the title means.

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