The Hindu : Karnataka News : Adrenalin-pumping big budget extravaganza

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Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Adrenalin-pumping big budget extravaganza

ACTION-PACKED: Vin Diesel (right) and his co-stars in Babylon AD

Film: Babylon AD (English)

Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz

The movie opens with a gravelly voice over saying “Save the planet. Whenever I’ve read that bumper sticker I’ve had to laugh. Save the planet. What for? And from what?”

Then somewhere in the middle of the movie you have one character say “global warming is bad for business.” There are also mentions of the extinction of the Siberian tiger, and cloning.

However, if you think Babylon AD is this “inconvenient truth” kind of green film, you have another thing coming. The film, based on the novel “Babylon Babies” by Maurice G. Dantec is a testosterone-driven, adrenalin-pumping big-budget extravaganza. The green stuff is just there for the dressing or may be to be cool or whatever.

Babylon AD tells the story of a veteran warrior Toorop who undertakes an assignment to bring a young woman, Aurora, from a convent in Kazakhstan to New York City. Aurora’s guardian Sister Rebecca comes along.

The 6,000-mile journey calls for big time action movie set pieces, including a submarine emerging from the icy waters like a prehistoric behemoth, an adrenalin-charged shootout on the snowy tundra, some nifty parlour (remember Casino Royale?) and then there are missiles on the streets of New York. Incidentally, the film is shot almost entirely on a sound stage in Prague.

There is some sort of implication about Aurora being the hope for a new world and some stark messages about messing about with creation, all of which is rather cursorily dealt with amid the rippling muscles and the loud rock music and fiery explosions.

Vin Diesel plays Toorop — rippling muscles, involved tattoos and all. He also says grace before he eats, or may be that was just some advanced way of finding out where the bad guys were. Poor Michelle Yeoh is once again reduced to making mystical pronouncements and looking serene. Mélanie Thierry plays golden girl Aurora. The movie is workman-like and hopes to ride on Diesel’s mammoth star presence to lift it to another level.

However, there is only so much Diesel can do with mediocre material.

There is no glint in his puppy-dog eyes as he does not get to do a Xander Cage and say “I want all of that in here.”

Animal cruelty is rampant in the film and one can only hope this is to show the breakdown of humanity and civilisation and not for some kind of sick gratuitous kick — which would be unforgiveable.

MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER

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