Æon Flux (2005)

Æon Flux (2005)

Dir. Karyn Kusama

Being a fan of Peter Chung's animation prior to seeing the live action adaptation, I was surprised when the announcement came that actress Charlize Theron had been cast in the lead role.

I'm not suggesting that she wasn't up to the task, Monster (2003) clearly proves otherwise, I'm saying that she's a shapely, beautiful woman, whereas the animated Æon is wiry and gangly, even undernourished, so from a purely visual perspective the two ladies are almost opposites.

But, truth be told, while not Peter Chung's Æon, Charlize's has a feminine strength that I wasn't expecting to see. In fact, given Hollywood's track record for sucking the life out of anything creative there's a lot included that I wasn't expecting. It's not a perfect film, but it's one that I enjoy wholeheartedly for the things that it did well.

It would've been difficult, if not impossible, to translate the animation faithfully into live action without having to rely too heavily on CGI, so rather than try much has been changed. I’m okay with that because I feel the alternative would've been very much the travesty that the original creator feels the final product actually is.

As it stands, it places emphasis on Æon’s unique skills (admittedly let down by action scenes being somewhat shoddily edited together); the wonderfully inventive and bordering on impossible future technology is in place; there's a slightly modified version of Scaphandra, here called Sithandra (Sophie Okonedo); and even a respectful nod to the eyeball and tongue scenes.

-Hooray for widescreen... and Lycra-

In support of all that, and equally as important, is the social aspect of the future world (the year is 2415) and the feelings to which it gives rise; namely that it may appear to be just a few steps away from a utopia but is actually closer to being a prison, albeit one that protects as well as confines, while above all else a dark secret is waiting to be discovered.

The costumes are less fetishistic as the source but are still vibrant and striking, and Charlize walks confidently in them. The unusual architecture and arrangement of props and/or set dressings often add unspoken commentary (e.g the twelve chairs arranged like a clock).

The lighting is decent; it's not as seductive as it could've been, but everything that needs to be visible is visible, so at the very least it's functional.

In closing, go in expecting a faithful adaptation and you’ll surely be disappointed, but strip away the badly executed action scenes and the remaining plot might just entertain on its own merits. Yes, the complex plotting of the animation is dumbed down, but it earns points for being more adventurous than the cynic in me was expecting.

And while the relationships of some key players have been drastically altered, at its core the tone is still more interesting than a lot of other Hollywood misfires.

Reportedly, approximately thirty minutes were cut from the original running time before its theatrical release; maybe someday we'll get it reinstated. A great many films worse than AF have received such a belated honour.