Based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec, Babylon A.D. was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz (La Haine), who worked on an English language adaptation of the film for five years, until it finally hit theaters in August of 2008. Kassovitz wrote the screenplay, along with screenwriter Éric Besnard. It has been widely reported that Kassovitz wasn’t happy with the cut that was released to theaters, because 20th Century Fox had forced him to eliminate what he felt were essential parts of the story. About fifteen minutes of the footage that was cut from the theatrical release has been included on the Blu-ray edition. While this version may be closer to Kassovitz’s vision, the film still leaves a lot to be desired.
Vin Diesel stars as Hugo Cornelius Toorop, a mercenary who accepts a contract from a Russian mobster named Gorsky (Gerard Depardieu) to smuggle a young girl known as Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) to New York City, He is eager to accept the assignment but there are risks, since he is on a terrorist watch list. In order to complete the assignment, Gorsky gives Toorop several different weapons, as well as a US passport that has to be injected under the skin of the neck. He picks up Aurora and her guardian nun Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh) and the three of them begin the journey from Noelite Convent, which takes them across Russia. As the journey progresses, we learn that Aurora has a secret so valuable that several people will kill for it. As Toorop protects the women from several would be assassins, he finds himself warming up to his charges.
That in a nutshell, is the story. Babylon A.D. doesn’t have any real complexities; it’s an action adventure about getting from Russia to America. Toorop doesn’t come with a backstory, so you don’t wonder about his reasons for going back to America or any sort of conflicted feelings that he might have for Aurora Rebeka vigorously protects Aurora and has quite a bit of skill in self-defense when threatened. The action is predictable and the acting is the same, and even when the end of the film comes to an end you’ll find yourself asking, given all his effort, is this the film Mathieu Kassovitz really meant to make?
There was a time just a few years ago; when I thought Vin Diesel was positioned to be the next action star. He had a good physique and loads of charisma. I was envisioning him as the nest Bruce Willis, with a bit of Sylvester Stallone thrown in. However, if he keeps making flicks like Babylon A.D., he could find his films going straight to DVD. I strongly suggest skipping this one and moving on to the next DVD on your wish list.
The 2.35:1 picture is detailed and colorful. Babylon A.D. tests the full gamut of the color spectrum. There are very dark moments and black levels and shadow detail never suffer. Both dark and light scenes are excellent. Detail is just as solid and I found myself loving how great the modern interpretation of New York City looked as well as the decayed visions of Russia. Fleshtones are very good as well. There was hardly any film grain present.
Babylon A.D. arrives with two soundtracks. The primary soundtrack is the English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio mix. Foreign language support arrives via a lone French 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack and subtitles are included in English SDH, French, Spanish, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin. The action scenes were done incredibly well and they were loud! All six channels are used effectively through the film and sounds moves fluidly between channels. The .1 LFE channel is called upon frequently to pound and deep and powerful base and it does not disappoint. Dialogue is strong and never drowned out by the explosive action.
Babylon A.D. is billed as a Digital Copy Special Edition and contains a second DVD that includes a Digital Copy of Babylon A.D. for “portable media players compatible with Apple iTunes.” While the packaging may have some think they no longer support Windows Media Players, the digital copy is fully compatible with XP and Vista machines.
The disc begins with a preview for the film Max Payne and a few other promotional clips. An Inside Look (3:00) for the release Behind Enemy Lines Columbia can be selected from the main menu. Two Bonus View supplements are included for Profile 1.1 capable Blu-ray players. Scene Evolution (50:50) is a PiP-based making of item that provides background information and interviews in a PiP window and can be moved into full screen mode by pressing the Play button. They are also selectable to be viewed independently or collectively from the Special Features menu. There are seventeen segments total. Babylon A.D. Commercials (2:44) is a short set of seven commercials that were filmed for Babylon A.D.
There are a total of five featurettes and Fox has provided an ability to play them all with one remote press. Babylon Babies (11:05) finds writer Maurice G. Dantec talking about his novel Babylon Babies on which the film is based. Arctic Escape (11:41) finds stunt coordinator Bob Brown discussing the stunts filmed for the picture and centers in on the Arctic sequence that was expanded from the story to the film. Fit for the Screen (7:04) is more time with Bob Brown and looks at stunt doubles and other physical activities for the filming of Babylon A.D. Vin Diesel discusses preparing for the film as well. Flight of the Hummers (8:00) looks entirely at the car chase involving Hummers. The final featurette, Prequel to Babylon A.D.: Genesis of Aurora (5:08) is an animated graphic novel that tells Aurora´s backstory.
The Deleted Scene – Hummer Sequence (2:32) spends just a little more time with the Hummer H1 vehicles that Toorop escaped with Aurora in. Much of this is the footage that is discussed in the “Flight of the Hummers” feature. The closing second also built upon the relationship between Aurora and Toorop. The Still Galleries features a large number of galleries that you can browse through.
