I enjoyed Babylon A.D. from the beginning up to its 88th minute. Then it was downhill from there. Vin Diesel plays Toorop, a hardened mercenary who was tasked to deliver Aurora (Melanie Thierry) from an isolated convent in Russia to New York. Accompanying them is Aurora’s guardian Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh). Right from the time Aurora was first shown on screen, she exudes a mysterious aura and you know right away that she’s special.
Being a Vin Diesel movie, I was expecting good action sequences and I was not disappointed with what I saw.
The sequences were fast and looked like it was made for the ADHD generation. There was even Parkour. To top it off, we saw Michelle Yeoh fight in this one, unlike in the Children of Huang Shi where she was relegated to a passive role.
For 80+ minutes we were treated with action scenes after another and then boom! All was calm. The movie had the potentials to be an epic Sci-fi but the ending ruined it. There were lots of questions left unanswered. Judging from the ending, I’d say most of it was left in the cutting room. I’m waiting for the original director’s cut of this movie.
In the beginning of the movie, Toorop made this intro statement:
Save the planet. Whenever I’ve read that bumper sticker I’ve had to laugh. Save the planet. What for? And from what? From ourselves? Life’s simple: kill or be killed, don’t get involved and always finish the job. A survivor’s code, my code, and it all sounds great until the day you find yourself confronted by a choice. A choice to make a difference, to help someone, or to walk away and save yourself. I learned something that day: you can’t always walk away. Too bad it was the day I died.
Yeah, too bad the movie died with him.
*Spoiler*
After Toorop died, he was resurrected by Aurora’s dad. We learn that Aurora was engineered to be a superior being and is carrying twins that are far more superior than she is. Aurora died while giving birth and last scene shows Toorop with the twins.