Aeon Flux
The irony of much of science fiction is the blatent tendency to directly copy ideas from other (usually lesser known) sources and to paste them into their own stories with nary a hint of credit or gratitude. One popular âsourceâ so to speak was the early 90s animated series Aeon Flux, from which were stolen concepts that were incorporated directly into The Matrix as well as nearly every âfemale action heroâ derived sci fi movie and TV show ever since. Such was the shameless plundering of the show that when the Flux concept itself was finally adapted into its own movie in 2005, it was heavily blasted for being derivative when all it ever really did was just cross over its original ideas from the show into this version, along with finally nailing the idea of an invulnerable female hero so well (with reasonable explanations given for her abilities) and in such a way that much of the film can almost be described as being a sleek, estrogen charged thrill ride (where most of the male characters come off as being purposely wimpy as a result), something that really seemed to bother male film critics (including Roger Ebert) as a result. Cast in the headlining role of Flux herself, they went with Charlize Theron, an actress who built her Hollywood credibility slowly but surely starting with sexy ingĂ©nue roles (Two Days In The Valley) before moving on to scene stealing supporting roles that deserved Oscar consideration (Devilâs Advocate) and then finally winning straight up a Best Actress Oscar for a part where she got suitably uglied up to play a real life female serial killer (Monster), so when it came time to do a project such as this as her audience pleasing, âfunâ superhero role, she certainly picked one that wasnât simplistically written and acted nor does it spoonfeed the viewer everything important thatâs needed to be known as the film goes on. In fact, one of the unique things about this film is that it continues the tradition (most famously done in Star Wars) of having an opening scrawl followed by an opening narration that pretty much lays the groundwork in explaining this future world and the basic tenets and rules contained therein. Now usually in these types of science fiction films, the established rules are strictly adhered to throughout so as not to disrupt the narrative flow of the story, but here director Karyn Kusama actually chooses to take what we are originally told and then evolve it or even change it up completely as the story unfolds so that not only are we treated to a series of unusual twists, but the overall emotional impact is magnified as Aeon and the others realize that their world is not as it seems. Apparently the core idea is that in 2011 a massive virus wiped out most of the human race, but one scientist managed to not only come up with a cure, but in doing so saved and preserved the lives of 5 million people. 400 years later, the desecending bloodline of the scientist has become the Supreme Ruler of a seemingly perfect, enlightened society filled with all of the perks of technological advancement, but which is also contained within the walls of a singular city while the outside world has been completely overrun by Mother Nature. Worse, the population seems to now be plagued by an epidemic of sleep deprivation, bad dreams, and experiencing sudden flashbacks to events to which they have no knowledge of that results in mental breakdowns. The reasons why are unknown to the people, even as the government always assures them that things are alright and the current Scientist Leaderâs face is everywhere to be seen as a sign that everything is well in hand, even as random killings and kidnappings by various military stormtroopers are common and surveillance is perfected to such a tee that any and all conversations within the city are easily captured and recorded. Of course, there is a rebel faction amongst all this, a group known as âMonicansâ whose goal is to bring down the government and set people free by putting their minds at ease. Theronâs Flux is of course the star operative of this group as she receives her marching orders through a special pill that, when ingested, allows her to communicate in her mind (and avoid detection) with the shadowy leader of the resistance (Francis McDormand) who herself may or may not be human but rather a computer generated Oracle type figure. One day she finally gets the mission that sheâs been waiting for: to infiltrate the government headquarters and take out the Fearless Leader Scientist Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas) who it would seem is a heartless tyrant keeping everyone under his thumb. At this point is when the aforementioned âestablished rulesâ of the story start flying out the window fast and furious, starting with the revelation that the Goodchild character is in reality a good, humane man whose government is corrupted by the underlings in his so called High Council most notably his weaselly brother (Jonny Lee Miller) even as he knows exactly what it is thatâs plaguing the population and is feverishy working to find some sort of cure once again that will set the world and the human race right. But thatâs just the start of things to come here in the matter of turning things upside down, so maybe itâs best to just look at the themes and subtext of the story and why it enhances the film, most notably the contrast between always blindly following a leader and doing what youâre told (a bind that ironically affects both Aeon and those within the government as well) or learning to think for yourself while always knowing the differences between right and wrong and also knowing that whatever the consequences may be, that you always have a choice. Another effective thought is in the idea that if you have the means to live forever (as is the case with most of the characters here through cloning), would you really want to do so even if it means that your very own existence effectively becomes more and more tortured as you go along? Since the possibility of cloning humans really can amount to being a scientific form of reincarnation, can its only real legitimate use be derived from that of a fear of death? The refreshing thing here almost seems to be from the Flux characterâs assertion that it really IS better to live just that one life (and to make the most of it) rather than the nightmarish alternative. Theron definitely deserves credit for playing this role in such a way that, underneath the wildly elaborate gadgetry and fighting skills, when she discovers her own human core and the secrets of how this society operates, her own choices are that of a sound, traditional sense and not of any far out, New Age beliefs which many might mistakenly walk into this film thinking that is what it advocates, and Charlize infuses her role with both the badass killing machine attitude as well as the sensitive womanly side trying to do the right thing. The film moves at an electric pace, sometimes too much so at times (a number of characters here had their development cut down to almost nothing), but the visual imagery on display here is truly something to behold, giving us a perfect future society whose very perfection is but a façade while still going for plenty of radical ideas and approaches, some of which work and some (including the use of little metal spikes in place of bullets which donât seem to do too much damage) not so much. Itâs also cool to see Pete Postletwaite (forever remembered as Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects) turn up here as The Keeper of all the genetic records (including getting to do some touching acting in one of the final scenes) and the eventual love story (when it comes out) certainly has its heart in the right place. While certain sequences definitely boast some logical inaccuracies, the film still remains unafraid to push forward through them and continue on towards asking questions of scientific ethics as well as those of good, old fashioned faith, an impressive achievement for something that bypasses the cliches of mindless sci fi (or at least those stories that keep asking the same questions over and over) and realizes this particular concept as being one that while surely a one shot deal for poor Charlize who had probably hoped for a franchise, will almost certainly endure as both a cult movie inspired by a cult MTV animated show and also as one of the much better examples in the admittedly tiresome and overdone annals of Female Hero Empowerment Action MoviesâŠ
8/10