The message. And Charlize Theron. A Sci. Fi. And nice story about dictatorship, freedom and love. Fight scenes and great special effects. And the right rythm for a large target.Short, new level of cartoon characters.

I was very attracted to the original shorts which appeared on Liquid Television/Mtv in the 1990's. I would live for each Friday night when I was able to watch a new episode. The shorts were great because it was conflict between an assassin which was always on a mission to steal some information or object, then later kill what appear to be an evil scientist.The Aeon Flux I knew would always have to sneak across a wall or barrier of some sort, covered with drones and guns, using stealth and technology to evade death.This movie has very little to do with the original series and is a good example of how fat cats in board rooms should tinker with the ideas of an artist. This movie is strictly about making some profit rather than creating quality.While the movie is entertaining in some respects, it has many fatal flaws and plot devices which appear just in time to move the move along. The love interest is very weak. The plot is even weaker. The only thing going for this movie is that the special effects are cool.I don't even think the casting was good enough. Goodwin is more European and has a thick German accent. Aeon Flux is thinner and taller. There are other choices for actors which would have fit the characters better.Overall I enjoyed the movie but did not think it was good enough. It seems to be from a cookie cutter design, typical of Hollywood trying to put out quantity rather than quality.

Just feels so...meh.Set in the year 2415, four hundred years after a virus wipes out all the humans on Earth except those in one city. That city was saved due to one inhabitant, Dr Goodchild, discovering an anti-virus. The city is now a (seemingly) benevolent dictatorship, run by the descendants of Dr Goodchild. However, strange things are afoot, thanks to the government. A rebel group does exist though and it counts among its members one Aeon FLux...Though the broad plot didn't seem overly original there was some room for an interesting story. That potential is wasted through style-over-substance direction which disguises a fairly weak and silly plot. The director does her best to create an air of mystery and suspense but this involves meaningless scenes, just there to confuse the audience. Cue the inevitable action scenes and explosions...Performances are pretty weak too. Charlize Theron seems listless as Aeon Flux. The character had the potential to be a great symbol for female empowerment through being a strong, invincible female action figure. Yet the writer and director hedge their bets and make her also a femme fatale and a sullen mysterious figure (to go with the superficial mystery of the movie). No wonder Theron seemed out of it - the character was so inconsistent!The remainder of the cast seem to be phoning it in too.

Three different administrations at Paramount were coming and going before Aeon Flux hit screens. Inheriting a film they could care less about, the talented director Karyn Kusama had the film taken away from her in post and Aeon Flux had major surgery done to it. 25 minutes were cut, characters entirely cut out and the result is a very pretty film, but a film that just doesn't make any damn sense. After Paramount's gutting, it was dumped with little fanfare and no screenings for critics. The visuals keep this watchable, but most of the film is like watching an action test pattern. Any depth on every character must have been cut out and Frances McDormand's hair dresser must have had a nervous breakdown before sending her out to the set. In it's current state, Aeon Flux plays like an outline of a film with not an ounce of emotion, heart or depth. I'd like to say a director's cut would be nice at some point, but honestly I'd rather Kusama make a far better project with better material.