Michelle Yeoh (L), Mélanie Thierry (C) and Vin Diesel in a gunfight scene in the sci-fi thriller “Babylon A.D.”

The studio-gutted sci-fi thriller “Babylon A.D.” does not live up to its potential.

Toorop (Vin Diesel), a hard as steel, politically-exiled American, makes his way in a rough and tough post-apocalyptic Russia as a mercenary. He is hired to perform the nearly impossible mission of smuggling a young woman through the impenetrable American border for the reward of legal status in his home country.

He meets Aurora, the virginal young nun he is to smuggle, at a secluded convent in outer Mongolia. She is accompanied by Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh), her high-kicking, mother-cum-bodyguard. As Toorop guides them from Central Asia to the Bering Strait, he sees that Aurora possesses supernatural powers. She is much more than the simple nun she seems to be…

From where I’m sitting

Considering all of the elements involved, this could have been a very entertaining movie. It is adapted from a highly acclaimed sci-fi novel (“Babylon Babies”), and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, a passionate, auteur director (“La Haine”). Add in a futuristic setting, some star wattage and martial arts power with Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh, and the result should have been a great time at the movies.

Alas, it was not to be.

Though the filmmakers create a fascinating Blade Runner-like world and play on an intriguing premise, the plot falls to pieces in the final act. It’s as if the last third of the movie was pureed in the studio kitchen’s blender. It’s an absolute mess, with so many unexplained strings, inexplicable plot holes and unbelievable character developments, that by the end, no one cares what happens anyway.

They did come close to making a good movie, apparently, before the studio suits got their hands on it. According to the director, 20th Century Fox was on his back so much throughout production he was not able to shoot any of the scenes as he originally envisioned. To make matters worse, the studio forced Kassovitz to cut a substantial portion of the film to make it a slim 90 minutes.

Whether that’s true or not, the movie we’ve ended up with is a mindless Vin Diesel action pic with a fascinating world and an interesting set-up that suggest tragically unfulfilled potential.

Who’s in it?

Vin Diesel – Once billed as the heir to the American action hero throne, Diesel has been getting a little flak for his choices of late. After creating a tough as nails persona through three hits in a row (“Pitch Black” “The Fast and the Furious” “xXx”), his career hit a skid as he tried to get in touch with his comedic side (“The Pacifier” “Find Me Guilty”). He tries to get back to his tough guy roots with this movie. As for his performance, well…Vin Diesel is Vin Diesel is Vin Diesel.

Michelle Yeoh – the legendary martial arts star has had significant exposure this year, appearing in this film as well as “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” earlier this summer. She has had a long and storied career as ‘the Queen of Kung Fu’ in Hong Kong. She first came to the attention of the West as the Bond girl in “Tomorrow Never Dies,” then as one of the leads in a little Chinese movie called “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Famous for being able to pull off believable characters alongside her kicks and punches, she does a decent job here.

Technically speaking

Director Matthieu Kassovitz burst onto the scene in 1995 with his international art-house hit “La Haine” (Hate). After making a couple of more French-language films and the Halle Berry-starring “Gothika,” he turned to his passion project – an adaptation of French sci-fi author Maurice G. Dantec’s critically-acclaimed novel “Babylon Babies.”

Kassovitz claims that the script he wrote based on the novel skillfully conveys the intelligent, politically-informed futuristic world and the powerful metaphysical and social themes in the novel. But, he says, the potential of the script was ruined by the controlling, commerce minded-studio, and now the movie is nothing but, in his words, “pure violence and stupidity.”

Well, I can testify that this movie does indeed have both violence and stupidity, and in spades. To the director’s credit, however, I was completely sucked into the futuristic world that the film created in the first hour or so. Apart from everything else, the production designers should be nominated for an academy award.

As for the mess of the last 40 minutes, the director’s claims may be true. I’ll admit I could definitely sense there was something deeper lurking behind the ominous scenery, the pithy dialogue and the blazing guns. But the bottom line is the film we’ve been given ends up a disaster. As for the masterpiece the director envisioned…well, that will just have to wait for the director’s cut.

Don’t take my word for it

Critics have been vicious in their criticism of the film, and the movie has earned a foul 6 percent rating on rottentomatoes.com. After two weekends, it’s made a ho-hum US$21 million in the US.

By Aaron Toronto

Aaron Toronto is an independent filmmaker who has been active in the Vietnamese film industry for the past four years. He currently lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City.