• Rating:
• Genre: Science Fiction
• Movie Type: Sci-Fi Action
• Themes: Future Dystopias, Hired Killers, Secret Organizations
• Director: Karyn Kusama
• Main Cast: Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, Frances McDormand
• Release Year: 2005
• Country: US
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• MPAA Rating: PG13

Plot

Based on the animated series by Peter Chung, Aeon Flux imagines a future in which 99 percent of the world's population is killed through industrial disease, and the survivors live in a single city that, despite utopian appearances, is quite totalitarian. Disinclined to embrace any particular ideology outside of a hatred for Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas), the leader of the council that governs the walled city, hyper-sexualized assassin Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) seeks to bring about a revolution. Retaining the title character's trademark jet-black hair and sleek, revealing clothing, this film adaptation fleshes out the story behind the sexual and romantic tension between Aeon and Trevor. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Review

MTV Films' first foray into big-budget sci-fi action was greeted with indifference bordering on hostility, as Aeon Flux failed to translate the expressionistic animation that made the original series a cult favorite, and reaped only 25 million dollars domestically. But this Charlize Theron vehicle actually does succeed in many of its design details. It's possible the tepid response was due to concept overload; on the heels of the Lara Croft movies, the Matrix movies, Catwoman, and Underworld, the "chicks who kick butt" genre was milked dry by late 2005. (Flux's director, Karyn Kusama, is even a veteran of one such film, albeit on a smaller scale -- the 2000 boxing drama Girlfight.) Theron makes a steely addition to the aforementioned list of fightin' females, though some critics found that the actress herself seemed emotionally disengaged, rather than just the character. Either way, she carries off the fight choreography with panache, and looks formidable in her skin-tight black outfit. The future can be hard for production designers to conjure in new ways, but Aeon Flux also deserves credit on that score, with such inventive gadgets as micro-controlled explosive rolling balls, pills that communicate messages when swallowed, and blades of grass that are literally blades. The "rebel force of assassins" plot is pretty played, but the story's cloning focus is timely and resonant. Individual triumphs aside, Aeon Flux seems like a film that never quite coalesced. The character arcs don't resolve in emotionally satisfying ways, and the film ends up feeling sort of underpopulated. More than anything, Aeon Flux again indicates the daunting task facing screenwriters who want to immerse their audience in fantasy worlds. Even if they fall just short of the mark, it can prompt critics to chastise the film as "Theron's Catwoman." ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Charlize Theron - Aeon Flux
• Marton Csokas - Trevor Goodchild
• Jonny Lee Miller - Oren Goodchild
• Sophie Okonedo - Sithandra
• Frances McDormand - The Handler

Pete Postlethwaite - The Keeper; Amelia Warner - Una Flux; Caroline Chikezie - Freya; Nikolai Kinski - Claudius

Credit

Charlie Croughwell - Stunts Coordinator; Stuart Dryburgh - Cinematographer; Syd Dutton - Visual Effects Supervisor; Peter Honess - Editor; Gale Anne Hurd - Producer; Andrew McAlpine - Production Designer; Beatrix Aruna Pasztor - Costume Designer; Graeme Revell - Composer (Music Score); Tom Rosenberg - Executive Producer; Bill Taylor - Visual Effects Supervisor; Karen Lindsay-Stewart - Casting; Laura Rosenthal - Casting; Greg Goodman - Producer; Jeff Gullo - Editor; Gary Lucchesi - Producer; Van Toffler - Executive Producer; David Warren - Art Director; Reinhold Heil - Composer (Music Score); Johnny Klimek - Composer (Music Score); Lisa Satriano - First Assistant Director; Plummy Tucker - Editor; Bernhard Henrich - Set Decorator; Manfred Banach - Sound/Sound Designer; Karyn Kusama - Director; Beth Sterner - Supervising Sound Editor; Phil Hay - Screenwriter; Matt Manfredi - Screenwriter; David Sosalla - Visual Effects Supervisor; Jonathan Rothbart - Visual Effects Supervisor; Scott Rader - Visual Effects Supervisor; Sarah Horton - Art Director; Greg Strause - Visual Effects Supervisor; BUF Compagne - Visual Effects; Martha Griffin - Co-producer; Colin Strause - Visual Effects Supervisor; Matthew Gratzner - Visual Effects Supervisor; David Gale - Producer

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