BABYLON A

BABYLON A.D. – There’s something about flawed science-fiction films that appeal to my gentler nature. Like Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce or David Twohy’s The Chronicles of Riddick (which coincidently also starred Vin Diesel), Babylon A.D. is a patchwork of inspirations lifted from better films. Yet those individual parts are often captivating unto themselves. Such is the case with director Mathieu Kassovitz’s adaptation of Maurice G. Dantec’s novel, which blends cyberpunk, political commentary and old fashioned American action movie clichés into a distinctly European package. Kassovitz’s film is genuinely intriguing for the first hour, establishing Vin Diesel as a bald bad-ass ex-smuggler hired to escort a young girl to New York City, the lone technological bright spot in a world razed by war, poverty and corruption. Their journey to America is well-paced, well-shot and well-designed with enviable photography by Thierry Arbogast (The Fifth Element). But once our characters cross the border to America, they leave any semblance of a coherent script behind them. Babylon A.D. literally explodes like a hot dog in a microwave, splattering new characters, ridiculous plot threads and unmotivated action scenes all over the screen. Universal’s Blu-ray presents the film in a new “raw and cut” edition that tries to appease much of the criticism leveled at the film during its theatrical release. (Even Kassovitz disowned his creation after alleged studio interference). Truth be told, the changes don’t add up to much. Babylon A.D. remains a high-profile misfit, wrestling with an itself for an identity...yet somehow fascinating, warts and all, as a failed attempt at literate science-fiction. The high-def image looks very good, but the extras (not surprisingly) shy away from any on-set difficulties which would have made them more compelling. 50-minutes of rough “making of” footage is wrapped in the BonusView features, in addition to several brief featurettes and a digital copy for portable media players.