Æon Flux (2005)

It starts off strong and is pretty true to the animated original. Theron is excellent and I loved the casting- though thrown by the non-blond Chairman at first. Also top marks for an super ethnically diverse cast of all genders which was amazing considering it was made in 2005. Visually everything is quite stunning, decors are fantastic, costumes, gadgets... Then, about half way in, things take a turn for the worse. It's really too bad. You can really tell where the producers cut the movie to shreds from Kusama's original edit. You're left with a hollow, almost hokey and mind numbingly simplistic plot reveal. The last 20 minutes of the film is a wash, even the final action sequences are terrible: confusing and even worse, boring. I was left feeling disappointed and wishing for a directors cut.

I have never watched the cartoon this movie is supposed to be based on. In fact, I did not even know it was based on a cartoon until after I watched the movie and then came here to read the trivia and goofs sections.I felt that the movie was very imaginative, creative, and unique. The various plants, the objects and their design, the costumes; all quite unusual (in a good way).I liked the story. I felt that that too was imaginative. I really liked the movie. I believe that it was well written and well acted. The visual effects were good. I did have a hard time believing some of the moves that the underground rebel group made, but since it is a fantasy or sci-fi film, I tried to go with it.I recommend watching this movie, even if you, like me, have never watched or heard of the cartoon.

Just feels so...meh.Set in the year 2415, four hundred years after a virus wipes out all the humans on Earth except those in one city. That city was saved due to one inhabitant, Dr Goodchild, discovering an anti-virus. The city is now a (seemingly) benevolent dictatorship, run by the descendants of Dr Goodchild. However, strange things are afoot, thanks to the government. A rebel group does exist though and it counts among its members one Aeon FLux...Though the broad plot didn't seem overly original there was some room for an interesting story. That potential is wasted through style-over-substance direction which disguises a fairly weak and silly plot. The director does her best to create an air of mystery and suspense but this involves meaningless scenes, just there to confuse the audience. Cue the inevitable action scenes and explosions...Performances are pretty weak too. Charlize Theron seems listless as Aeon Flux. The character had the potential to be a great symbol for female empowerment through being a strong, invincible female action figure. Yet the writer and director hedge their bets and make her also a femme fatale and a sullen mysterious figure (to go with the superficial mystery of the movie). No wonder Theron seemed out of it - the character was so inconsistent!The remainder of the cast seem to be phoning it in too.

It's 2415. The remaining population of the world is living a Utopian walled city of Bregna with a ruling council led by Oren Goodchild (Jonny Lee Miller). However something is wrong and people are disappearing. Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) is a mysterious warrior and a member of the rebel group the Monicans. Her beloved sister Una is killed. She feels an unknown connection to Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas). She must uncover a secret conspiracy and the hidden secret of the their world.This is a rather dull sci-fi with wooden acting and murky story. The style is pretty interesting but that's all I like about this movie. The movie needs some exposition early on to guide the audience into this world. It holds back too much for the big revelation and the first half is basically lost to confusion especially if you come into the story without prior knowledge. The wooden acting style saps away all the energy and even the action scenes can't save it.