Aeon Flux is a live action interpretation of the MTV animated series by Peter Chung. It has been absolutely torn to shreds by critics prior to release in Australia therefore my expectations were very low but I found myself quite surprised that it wasn’t that bad. As far as sci-fi adventures are concerned, it is no Blade Runner or Matrix but it is still a watchable entry into the genre.Set in 2415 a time where disease has almost eradicated the human race except for a protected state known as Begna – a seemingly perfect utopia that is contained within a heavily secured biosphere. The movie centres around Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron), the top agent in a secretive rebellion group known as the Monican.
The mysterious Handler (Frances McDormand) leads the Monican rebellion and assigns Aeon to the ultimate mission of taking out the totalitarian government leader Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas). This is an assignment that she gladly accepts with it being the ultimate goal of the Monican movement and she also blames Goodchild for the recent murder of a family member. Fuelled by revenge and her determined beliefs Aeon uncovers a world of secrets that will leave her in an awkward and dangerous position as her loyalty to the Monican rebellion is challenged.
The look of Aeon Flux is fantastic – the sets, the special effects and the costuming (especially if you have a fancy for Charlize Theron) are all very appealing to the eye. The action scenes are also very well choreographed with Theron impressively performing most of her stunts and at only 95 minutes it never gets boring.
Unfortunately it does suffer from style over substance and leaves you wanting more depth. Strangely Aeon Flux has a top notch cast of award winning actors but does not do a great deal with them. The character development for all involved is very shallow. The main problem with Aeon Flux is that it enters a realm of intriguing ideas but never goes too far into developing them nor does it delve very deep into the personalities of the central characters.Still, there is enough to like about Aeon Flux to warrant a visit to the cinema for a quick action fix, just don’t go looking for a mind-bending sci-fi experience otherwise you will feel a little let down.
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