The movie "Aeon Flux," is based in a futuristic society on the brink of extinction after a plague annihilated 99 percent of the human population. Peter Chung created the universe of "Aeon Flux" and initially took his vision to Liquid Television for MTV in 1991. It became a short-lived series for the network in 1995. Chung's creation never had any existing cohesion between episodes. As a matter of fact, even the episodes themselves lacked any real relevance from scene to scene. It was never his intention to bring plot and storylines to the small screen. However, it was his intention to show style through his vision of a surreal society.
Transforming this style and Chung's initial vision to the big screen would seem to be quite the effort. Adding cohesion to a story that was never meant to have it is obviously the product of a brainchild cooked up by the network. They hired former indie director Karyn Kusama to bring their "Flux" to the screen. Having Kusama in the director's chair secured Oscar-nominated beauty Charlize Theron for the staring role. In recent interviews, Theron said she was extremely impressed with "Girlfight," Kusama's directorial debut.
The movie somehow retained most of the style and wit of Chung's masterpiece. They added cohesion and relevance quite convincingly to the story, quite a feat considering the source material. The language, attitudes and decadence of this utopian society remain the same. However, for the general audience who is not familiar with this world, I believe most people will find it absurd and ridiculous. The plotline borrows most of it's conventions from other science fiction films like "The Matrix." Fans of that movie will leave with a bad taste in their mouth. It would seem this movie rips certain ideas from that and other futuristic films. But "Aeon Flux" had that feel long before the Wachowski Brothers thought it up. Chung helped with the storyline already in his head.
Fan or no fan, it is absurd and ridiculous no matter where the ideas come from. The translation was not a complete success, nor was it a complete failure. The action scenes, stunt work and the overall visual effects are stunning in their attempt at originality. I wasn't left wanting more from the film when the last frame left the screen. I was, however, left with a desire to see what Chung himself would have done, if the suits had given him total control over his creation.
Charlize does a good job of using her curves and inescapable beauty as a weapon, just as the titular character of the television show did. That is the basis for the show and Charlize nailed it.
The movie begins with the action already in play and ends with a dizzying display of well-choreographed fight scenes. You have your one-handed, automatic gunfire, you have your theme of undying love, and you have your familiar cross section theme of truth setting us free. What the film doesn't have is the ability to crossover to a mass audience. Having the characters able to communicate through their subconsciouses, along with another character with hands for feet, is asking far too much of an audience in front of a live action setting. The movie is for the die-hard fans. I suggest renting the full collection before seeing the film, in order to immerse in the wonderment of the universe. I really enjoyed it, but I have been a faithful fan since the beginning. "Aeon Flux" opened with a rather disappointing $13 million over the past weekend. I don't believe that had anything to do with the studio's decision not to screen it. After seeing "Aeon Flux," I can see why they didn't want reviewers to see it ahead of time. It would have been savagely torn to shreds. As I said before though, I believe this was made with the fans in mind.
