Saturday, March 17, 2007

Aeon Flux


Charlize Theron is a very lovely lady and a talented actress. She is not afraid of any role and has made a few wise choices and a few bad choices. The South African beauty may have been second guessing her decision to star in the live-action adaptation of MTV´s "Æon Flux" after she was injured during performing a stunt and sustained a neck injury. Theron stormed back after she was hurt and continued to perform her own stunts. The film also performed poorly in box office receipts. With a budget estimated to be north of sixty million dollars, "Æon Flux" grossed just over twenty five million dollars. The Academy Award winning actress deserves better than a box office dud and a neck injury, but the actress has gotten to where she is by taking chances and she took a chance in signing on as the cybernetic character Æon Flux.

Æon Flux is an operative for a clandestine organization, the Monicans. Æon benefits from some cybernetic implants, though the film version of the character is far less ´enhanced´ than the character brought to screen by Charlize Theron. In addition to her physical improvements, Æon utilizes tools and weapons of amazing technology. A ring on her finger lets her drop dozens of small metallic balls that are based upon advanced nanotechnology and provide her important backup in dire situations. Æon is an excellent marksman and a lethal assassin. She has been bred and trained by the Monicans to help bring down the Goodchild leadership that is guilty of kidnapping and killing innocents and restricting personal freedoms with such severity that people are simply ants in a colony and go through the motions of living, but lack are not allowed individuality or expression.

Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas) is the Chairman of the last city in civilization, Bregna. Mankind has nearly been wiped out by a dangerous plague and Goodchild and his brother Oren (Jonny Lee Miller) dictate the rules and regulations that help insure their perfect society remains perfect. Citizens are not allowed to move past the city walls, where life still flourishes, but fear of the plague keeps anybody from wanting to see what is behind the city´s final borders. Æon is aided by her friend and fellow operative, Sithandra (Sophie Okonedo). Sithandra has had her feet replaced by hands and has improved mobility and is a dangerous friend for Æon. They take orders from the Handler (Frances McDormand), which are given through an implanted pill and the subconscious. Guerilla warfare has scared the Goodchild´s perfect city as the Monicans try to discover the reason for strange disappearances and Æon is the best of the opposition.

The film finds Æon´s younger sister Una Flux (Amelia Warner) being eliminated by the Goodchild security force. Æon longs to enact revenge for the murder of her lone family member. She is given orders by the Handler to sneak into the Goodchild fortress and do whatever it takes to kill Trevor Goodchild. However, things get complicated when Trevor and Æon find a familiarity between one another and suddenly everything is not as it seems. Oren moves to mutiny against his older and ruling brothers and Trevor and Æon find themselves alone with no allies, but a clear mission to reveal what Trevor knows is infecting the perfect society. The Handler wants Æon eliminated for failing in her mission to eradicate Trevor and Æon finds herself allied only with the person she once thought was her primary enemy.

And so goes "Æon Flux." The film is a far cry from the gritty and disturbing reality presented in MTV´s original Liquid Television entry. Æon is more human than what she was in the animated series and she is far lovelier in the skin of Charlize Theron. The post apocalyptic world in the Paramount movie is a beautiful place with perfect architecture in its buildings and bright sunny skies. This is a complete reversal from the gothic and haunting structures that have been ravaged and a dark and ugly world painted on the cells of the MVT cartoon. The live action film does not seem as dangerous a place when compared to the origins of the "Æon Flux" series. In this film, the world doesn´t seem to be that bad of a place, though the disappearances and kidnappings are definitely not a pleasant part of every day living. The dangerous and foreboding environment of the original series is not conveyed in this live action film and the film is hindered by not providing a fantasy world reminiscent of the older series.

Charlize Theron loses her long blonde locks and sports the jet black shortened haircut with the dangerously long bangs of the original animated vixen. The actress is given a far greater amount of fabric and leather than the original character, which was clothed as minimally as possible. Some may have wished for an extremely scantily clad Charlize, and one scene in the film where Æon awakens from her sleep does pay homage to the animated series. She catches a fly with her eyelashes and is barely adorned with any clothing. The look of the cinematic Æon is highly influenced by that of the television series and Charlize´s transformation into the character shows her dedication to any performance, as she chose not to wear a wig, but allow for her hair to be cut and dyed to fit the character.

The film itself is decent enough, but it apparent why it was not a box office blockbuster. The story is more "Æon Flux" Lite than it is true to the animated roots of the character. Æon is provided with a love interest and much of the film takes place in a handful of locations. The film has a claustrophobic feel to it and where the city is not expansive because of bounding walls, the movie surely could have taken advantage of more locations and sets than spending nearly all of its time at various locations around the Goodwill fortress. Another weak spot in the cinematic experience is the minimalistic future world. Where are the futuristic vehicles and the towering skyscrapers. The floating blimp was an opportunity to break free of the courtyard sets and clean interiors, but once the characters find themselves inside the DNA chamber, there is nothing wondrous about the set. You could say much of the problem with the film is that there is nothing really wondrous about the film. It seems like science-fiction going through the motions and watered down to a point where the film would have hopefully captured a larger audience. Charlize Theron is lovely and nearly perfect as Æon, but "Æon Flux" would be barely noticeable as paying tribute to the original animated series if you would remove Theron from the film´s frames.

Charlize Theron is a very lovely lady and a talented actress. She is not afraid of any role and has made a few wise choices and a few bad choices. The South African beauty may have been second guessing her decision to star in the live-action adaptation of MTV´s "Æon Flux" after she was injured during performing a stunt and sustained a neck injury. Theron stormed back after she was hurt and continued to perform her own stunts. The film also performed poorly in box office receipts. With a budget estimated to be north of sixty million dollars, "Æon Flux" grossed just over twenty five million dollars. The Academy Award winning actress deserves better than a box office dud and a neck injury, but the actress has gotten to where she is by taking chances and she took a chance in signing on as the cybernetic character Æon Flux.

Æon Flux is an operative for a clandestine organization, the Monicans. Æon benefits from some cybernetic implants, though the film version of the character is far less ´enhanced´ than the character brought to screen by Charlize Theron. In addition to her physical improvements, Æon utilizes tools and weapons of amazing technology. A ring on her finger lets her drop dozens of small metallic balls that are based upon advanced nanotechnology and provide her important backup in dire situations. Æon is an excellent marksman and a lethal assassin. She has been bred and trained by the Monicans to help bring down the Goodchild leadership that is guilty of kidnapping and killing innocents and restricting personal freedoms with such severity that people are simply ants in a colony and go through the motions of living, but lack are not allowed individuality or expression.

Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas) is the Chairman of the last city in civilization, Bregna. Mankind has nearly been wiped out by a dangerous plague and Goodchild and his brother Oren (Jonny Lee Miller) dictate the rules and regulations that help insure their perfect society remains perfect. Citizens are not allowed to move past the city walls, where life still flourishes, but fear of the plague keeps anybody from wanting to see what is behind the city´s final borders. Æon is aided by her friend and fellow operative, Sithandra (Sophie Okonedo). Sithandra has had her feet replaced by hands and has improved mobility and is a dangerous friend for Æon. They take orders from the Handler (Frances McDormand), which are given through an implanted pill and the subconscious. Guerilla warfare has scared the Goodchild´s perfect city as the Monicans try to discover the reason for strange disappearances and Æon is the best of the opposition.

The film finds Æon´s younger sister Una Flux (Amelia Warner) being eliminated by the Goodchild security force. Æon longs to enact revenge for the murder of her lone family member. She is given orders by the Handler to sneak into the Goodchild fortress and do whatever it takes to kill Trevor Goodchild. However, things get complicated when Trevor and Æon find a familiarity between one another and suddenly everything is not as it seems. Oren moves to mutiny against his older and ruling brothers and Trevor and Æon find themselves alone with no allies, but a clear mission to reveal what Trevor knows is infecting the perfect society. The Handler wants Æon eliminated for failing in her mission to eradicate Trevor and Æon finds herself allied only with the person she once thought was her primary enemy.

And so goes "Æon Flux." The film is a far cry from the gritty and disturbing reality presented in MTV´s original Liquid Television entry. Æon is more human than what she was in the animated series and she is far lovelier in the skin of Charlize Theron. The post apocalyptic world in the Paramount movie is a beautiful place with perfect architecture in its buildings and bright sunny skies. This is a complete reversal from the gothic and haunting structures that have been ravaged and a dark and ugly world painted on the cells of the MVT cartoon. The live action film does not seem as dangerous a place when compared to the origins of the "Æon Flux" series. In this film, the world doesn´t seem to be that bad of a place, though the disappearances and kidnappings are definitely not a pleasant part of every day living. The dangerous and foreboding environment of the original series is not conveyed in this live action film and the film is hindered by not providing a fantasy world reminiscent of the older series.

Charlize Theron loses her long blonde locks and sports the jet black shortened haircut with the dangerously long bangs of the original animated vixen. The actress is given a far greater amount of fabric and leather than the original character, which was clothed as minimally as possible. Some may have wished for an extremely scantily clad Charlize, and one scene in the film where Æon awakens from her sleep does pay homage to the animated series. She catches a fly with her eyelashes and is barely adorned with any clothing. The look of the cinematic Æon is highly influenced by that of the television series and Charlize´s transformation into the character shows her dedication to any performance, as she chose not to wear a wig, but allow for her hair to be cut and dyed to fit the character.

The film itself is decent enough, but it apparent why it was not a box office blockbuster. The story is more "Æon Flux" Lite than it is true to the animated roots of the character. Æon is provided with a love interest and much of the film takes place in a handful of locations. The film has a claustrophobic feel to it and where the city is not expansive because of bounding walls, the movie surely could have taken advantage of more locations and sets than spending nearly all of its time at various locations around the Goodwill fortress. Another weak spot in the cinematic experience is the minimalistic future world. Where are the futuristic vehicles and the towering skyscrapers. The floating blimp was an opportunity to break free of the courtyard sets and clean interiors, but once the characters find themselves inside the DNA chamber, there is nothing wondrous about the set. You could say much of the problem with the film is that there is nothing really wondrous about the film. It seems like science-fiction going through the motions and watered down to a point where the film would have hopefully captured a larger audience. Charlize Theron is lovely and nearly perfect as Æon, but "Æon Flux" would be barely noticeable as paying tribute to the original animated series if you would remove Theron from the film´s frames.

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