Babylon A.D.

Infobox Film
name = Babylon A.D.


caption = U.S. Theatrical poster
director = Mathieu Kassovitz
producer = Alain Goldman
Mathieu Kassovitz
writer = Éric Besnard
narrator =
starring = Vin Diesel
Michelle Yeoh
Mélanie Thierry
music = Hans Zimmer
Atli Orvarsson
cinematography = Thierry Arbogast
editing = Benjamin Weill
distributor = 20th Century Fox
Alliance Films
released = August 29, 2008
runtime = 90 min. (USA) / 101 min. (Europe)
country = France
United States
language = English
budget = $60 millioncite news | author=Alison James | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961259.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 | title='Babylon' gets back on track | publisher="Variety" | date=2007-03-15 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ]
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://www.babylonadmovie.com/
amg_id = 1:361086
imdb_id = 0364970

"Babylon A.D." is a 2008 science fiction thriller film based on the novel "Babylon Babies" by Maurice Georges Dantec. The film was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and stars Vin Diesel, Mélanie Thierry, Michelle Yeoh and Lambert Wilson. It was released on August 29, 2008 in the United States.

Cast

*Vin Diesel as Hugo Cornelius Thoorop, a mercenary
*Mélanie Thierry as Aurora, a young woman who has been genetically altered
*Michelle Yeoh as Sister Rebecca, an elder Japanese Noelite nun
*Lambert Wilson as Dr. Arthur Darquandier, Aurora's father thought to be dead
*Mark Strong as Finn
*Gerard Depardieu as Gorsky, the man who hired Thoorop to transport Aurora
*Charlotte Rampling as the Noelite High Priestess and CEO of the Noelite church, who paid for Aurora to be created and therefore sees herself as her mother
*David Gasman as Noelite Researcher

Plot

A few decades in the future, a mercenary named Thoorop (Vin Diesel) accepts a contract from a Russian mobster, Gorsky, who instructs him to bring a young woman only known as Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) to New York. In order to reach his goal, Gorsky gave Thoorop a variety of weapons as well as a UN passport that has to be injected under the skin of the neck. Thoorop, along with the girl and her guardian nun Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh), travel from the the Noelite Convent where they lived across Russia to reach America.

The towns and cities of Russia have been turned into dangerous, over populated slums by war and terrorist activity, forcing Thoorop, Aurora, and Rebeka to face dangers of the human element, all the while fleeing from an unknown group of mercenaries claiming to have been sent by Aurora's supposedly dead father. The stress of humanity's situation causes Aurora to act out in strange ways that neither Thoorop, nor Rebeka can explain. On one such occasion, Aurora seemed, for no reason, to panic and run from a crowded train station, just before it was bombed.

Later, they were forced to board a submarine that carried refugees to Canada. There were too many refugees to take at once, so the submarine was forced to leave some behind, even if it came to shooting them. Aurora, infuriated by the loss of life, suddenly knew how to operate the thirty year old submarine, without having ever learned about it.

Sister Rebeka explains to Thoorop that Aurora could speak nineteen different languages by the age of two, and always seemed to know things she had never learned. When, three months before leaving with Thoorop, she had begun acting out in ways she never had before. This occured after a visit by a Noelite doctor who had administered a pill to Aurora. The doctor told her to go to America, and arranged for Thoorop to take them.

Once in New York, a news broadcast about the bombing of the Convent that Aurora and Rebeka hail from, caused the group to realize that there was more going on then they knew. Gorsky, working for the Noelites, had planted a tracking device in Thoorop's passport, and then bombed the convent when he knew they were in America. The doctor who earlier saw Aurora in the convent then appears to examine her again. When he leaves, Aurora reveals (again without being told) that she is pregnant with twins, even though she was a virgin.

Looking outside, Thoorop saw both Gorsky's men, as well as the Noelite group, heavily armed and waiting for them. The High Priestess then calls Thoorop and asks him to bring Aurora outside. Just before they take her away, Thoorop changes his mind and starts a firefight with the two group with the ultimate goal of getting the two women to safety. However, because of the tracking devices, Gorsky's men can lock onto him with tracking rockets. Rebeka gets shot and killed defending Aurora, who in turn shoots Thoorop saying the words "I need you to live." By dying, the rocket goes off target and hits Aurora instead.

Thoorop's body was revived by Dr. Arthur Darquandier, using advanced medical techniques that involved replacing his right arm with cybernetics to undo the damage of being dead for over two hours. Darquandier explaines that when Aurora was a fetus, he genetically enhanced her by using a super computer to 'implant' intelligence into her brain. It is also implied that the Noelite group had him create Aurora to become pregnant at a certain time in order to use her as a 'virgin birth' for their religion.

After she was born, the Noelites had him assassinated, or so they thought. He remained 'dead' until he found his daughter in Russia with Thoorop.

Doctor Darquandier then instructed Thoorop to find Aurora before the Noelites could, which he does. Aurora dies giving birth to two children of two different colors, whom Thoorop raises as his own.

Production

Mathieu Kassovitz developed an English-language film adaptation of Maurice Georges Dantec's French novel "Babylon Babies" for five years; [ [http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/08/babylon-ad-kass.html] ] in June 2005, this project got financed from StudioCanal and Twentieth Century Fox. [ [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117924999.html?categoryid=1952&cs=1&query=Kassovitz+babylon+fox Fox beckoned by 'Babylon'] ] The adapted screenplay was written by Kassovitz and screenwriter Éric Besnard. Production was initially slated to begin in February 2006 in Canada and Eastern Europe. [cite news | author= | url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/628/628884p1.html | title=Big-Screen "Babylon" | publisher=IGN | date=2005-06-24 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] French actor Vincent Cassel was initially sought to be cast in the lead role. [cite news | author= | url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=13054 | title= Vin Diesel to Topline "Babylon A.D." | publisher=ComingSoon.net | date=2006-02-05 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] In February 2006, actor Vin Diesel entered negotiations to star in the film, titled "Babylon A.D.", [cite news | author=Alison James | url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=features2006&content=jump&jump=story&head=berlin&nav=Nberlin&articleid=VR1117937639&cs=1 | title=Studio Canal eyes English-lingo pix | publisher=Variety | date=2006-02-08 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] dropping out of the lead role of "Hitman" in the process. [cite news | author=Nicole Laporte | coauthors=Michael Fleming | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957622.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | title=Olyphant to shoot 'Hit Man' | publisher=Variety | date=2007-01-17 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] Production of the futuristic thriller about genetic manipulation was slated to begin in June 2006. [cite news | author=Liza Klaussman | url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=features2006&content=jump&jump=story&dept=cannes&nav=FCCannes&articleid=VR1117943063 | title=Parlez vous anglais? | publisher=Variety | date=2006-05-14 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] By February 2007, filming was slated to wrap in April to release "Babylon A.D." in time for the coming Thanksgiving. [cite news | author=Alison James | url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=features2007&content=jump&jump=story&dept=berlin&nav=NBerlin&articleid=VR1117959153&cs=1 | title=Legende plans TV series, touts films | publisher=Variety | date=2007-02-09 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] In February, filming took place at Barrandov Studios. [cite news | author=Katja Hofmann | url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=features2007&content=jump&jump=story&dept=berlin&nav=NBerlin&articleid=VR1117959088&cs=1 | title=Czech movies shine at Berlin | publisher=Variety | date=2007-02-09 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] In March 2007, the filming crew, having shot in the Czech Republic, took a two-week hiatus to deal with uncooperative weather, such as the lack of snow, and problems with set construction. Crew members scouted Iceland for locations with snow to shoot six to eight days of footage, which was supposed to be done in February. Filming was also done with the leads Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and Mélanie Thierry in Ostrava in March. The French visual effects company BUF Compagnie was contracted to develop the film's effects. [cite news | author=Rebecca Leffler | url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/international/features/e3i7bd8c0c023888c2f598deb1cb8194586?imw=Y | title=France new star in global effects biz | publisher=The Hollywood Reporter | date=2007-04-10 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ]

In April 2007, "Babylon A.D." was reported to be over-budget and three weeks behind schedule. A lack of snow meant a skiing sequence to be shot in Eastern Europe had to be moved to Sweden. [cite news | author=Richard Johnson | url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/04212007/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm | title=EGOS COLLIDE ON SCI-FI PROJECT | publisher=New York Post | date=2007-04-21 | accessdate=2007-04-29 ] Later in the month, actor Lambert Wilson was cast into the film. [cite news | author= | url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=20133 | title= Wilson Boards "Babylon CE" and "Heaven" | publisher=ComingSoon.net | date=2007-04-29 | accessdate=2007-04-30 ] Filming was completed in May 2007. [cite news | author=Alison James | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117965296.html?categoryId=2523&cs=1 | title=Starry pics put Studio Canal back on map | publisher=Variety | date=2007-05-18 | accessdate=2007-05-19 ]

American artist Khem Caigan designed the sigil that appears as a tattoo on the right side of Thoorop's neck - an emblem which originally appeared in the Schlangekraft "Necronomicon" in 1977.

The music of "Babylon A.D." is scored by composers Hans Zimmer and Atli Örvarsson. The musical alliance Achozen, represented by Shavo Odadjian and RZA performed the score for the film. Zimmer described the intended style: "Musically, our objective was to merge the sounds and energies of hip hop with classical music, seamlessly melting them into an unusual soundscape." [cite news | author= | url=http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/press_releases/shavo_scores_first_feature_film.html?200712140433 | title=Shavo Scores First Feature Film | publisher=Ultimate-Guitar.com | date=2007-12-14 | accessdate=2008-03-11 ]

Release

"Babylon A.D." was originally slated to be released in the United States on February 29 2008, but its release was postponed to August 29 2008. [cite news | author=Peter Sciretta | url=http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/11/03/babylon-ad-pushed-back-jumper-on-v-day-year-one-in-2009-the-ruins-one-week-later/ | title=Babylon A.D. Pushed BACK | publisher=/Film | date=2007-11-03 | accessdate=2007-12-06 ]

Reception

Director Mathieu Kassovitz was very unhappy with the distributors, 20th Century Fox, producers and other partners. He described the film as "pure violence and stupidity" and stated that "parts of the movie are like a bad episode of "24"." [cite news | author=Clayton Nueman | url=http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/2008/08/babylon-ad-mathieu-kassovitz.php | title=Masters of Scifi - Babylon A.D. Director Mathieu Kassovitz Describes a Disastrous Production | publisher=/Film | date=2008-08-25 | accessdate=2008-08-26 ]

As of October 10, 2008, Rotten Tomatoes records a 7% positive rating, [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/babylon_ad/ Babylon A.D. Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes] ] while Metacritic compiles a 26% rating based on 15 reviews. [ [http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/babylonad Babylon A.D. (2008): Reviews - Metacritic] ]

As of October 9, 2008, the film grossed $22,354,735 in the United States and $23,938,299 in foreign countries totaling a worldwide gross of $46,293,034. [cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=babylon.htm | publisher="Box Office Mojo" | title=Babylon A.D.| accessdate=2008-10-09] The film was placed #2 behind "Tropic Thunder" with $9,484,267 in 3,390 theaters with a $2,798 average. [cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?view=&yr=2008&wknd=35&p=.htm | publisher="Box Office Mojo" | title=Weekend Results from 8/29 to 8/31 | accessdate=2008-10-09] The film has the eight highest top 4-day Labor Day gross. [cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/laborday.htm?page=LABDAY&p=.htm | title=Top 4-day Labor Day Weekends | publisher="Box Office Mojo" | accessdate=2008-10-09]

References

External links

* [http://www.babylonadmovie.com/ Official site]
*
* [http://www.movieset.com/babylon-ad Babylon A.D.] on MovieSet
* [http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/babylonad Babylon A.D.] at Metacritic
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/babylon_ad/ Babylon A.D.] at Rotten Tomatoes
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=babylon.htm Babylon A.D.] at Box Office Mojo