Creative quotient

Based on a classic 'save the girl, save the world' premise, ‘Babylon A.D’ tells a fantasy tale set in the midst of a futuristic Earth. The theme seems genuine but it seems the writers or the studio forgot to create a vision in the film.

Imagine this, ‘The Fifth Element 's’ futuristic cityscapes, the ‘XXX 's’ Xander Cage like protagonist and a story draft that seems to borrow elements from ‘Star Wars, The Terminator’ and some ‘Star Trek’ episodes. It all could and would have worked had the writer not been hit by a truck. It seems the think tank working of the film just went looney when it came to write the climax.

Loosely, the film traces a mercenary named Toorop (Vin Diesel) who is assigned to a special mission. His task is to escort a girl named Aurora (Melanie Thierry) from Russia to USA. But, he is not the only one involved; a mysterious Chinese woman named Rebekah (Michelle Yeoh) who is the guardian of Aurora joins the expedition as well. What is incomprehensible about this character is that she is of Chinese origin but lives like a Christian nun in Russia. She's too globalised. And that is not half as confusing as the completely incoherent and unexplained plot developments and climax that make ‘Babylon A.D’ a real sour affair.

Technical expertise

On the positive side one can relish the fact that ‘Babylon A.D’ is a big studio film and thanks to a handsome budget the film boasts of some good visual effects and action sequences. The screenplay of the film is speedy and developments keep popping up at a break neck speed. If only the film had been written better, the director Mathieu Kassovitz would have been able to salvage some pride.

The acting performances by Diesel and Thierry are average. Yeoh's inclusion in the film seems like a request fulfilled for fans of ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ or ‘The Mummy 3’.

The production values of the film are A-grade and there is no doubt that the movie looks great. But, it seems the film indulges too much in establishing themes of action, science fiction and adventure and compromises on character development and plot explanations.

Ratings

The unique sci-fi premise, a few good action sequences and some decent visual effects make this film worth two stars.

Plot

A mercenary escorts a mysterious girl and her guardian from Russia to USA.

Verdict

A promising concept that looses steam thanks to bad execution.

Box-office

Diesel's popularity should help the film garner some attention.

Cast