I’ll be honest with you. When I heard about Babylon A.D. back in 2008, I expected a solid sci fi action flick. After all, Vin Diesel was coming off some decent hits.
Boy, was I disappointed. When I finally watched it, it felt like two different movies stitched together badly.
This scifi thriller from director Mathieu Kassovitz stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and Mélanie Thierry. It runs about 90 minutes and carries a PG 13 rating.
But that runtime tells you something went wrong. I’m writing this review because Babylon A.D. shows what happens when studio interference ruins a director’s vision.
Let me tell you why this film matters as a cautionary tale more than anything else.
Storyline Overview
Babylon A.D. follows a mercenary’s dangerous mission across a post apocalyptic world, but the story falls apart halfway through.
Toorop is a mercenary hired to escort a young woman named Aurora from Russia to New York City. Aurora has strange abilities that make her a target for religious groups and governments.
The film tries to find faith in a broken world. Toorop is a cynic. Aurora represents hope. Their trip is supposed to change him.
The problem is these themes never get developed properly. The film rushes through everything. You see hints of deeper ideas but they never land.
Characters and Performances
The actors try their best with a messy script, but even good performances can’t save unclear motivations.
Toorop (Vin Diesel)
Toorop is your typical hardened mercenary. He trusts no one. Money is all that matters to him. Vin Diesel handles the action scenes well.
His gruff delivery works for this character. But Toorop doesn’t really grow. He’s supposed to change throughout the trip but the film doesn’t show us why.
Diesel gives Toorop a weary quality that almost works. But the script doesn’t give him enough to work with.
Aurora (Mélanie Thierry)
Aurora is the mysterious young woman at the center of everything. She seems to know the future and speaks languages she never learned.
Mélanie Thierry brings quiet intensity to the role. There’s something genuinely strange about her character.
Is she psychic? Is she a prophet? The film never commits to an answer. We never really understand what she is or what she wants.
Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh)
Sister Rebeka is Aurora’s protector. She’s a nun trained in combat, devoted to keeping Aurora safe.
Michelle Yeoh brings gravitas to every scene. She makes Sister Rebeka feel important and her relationship with Aurora feels real.
The script wastes Yeoh’s talents. Sister Rebeka becomes background support instead of being central to the story.
Supporting Cast
Lambert Wilson plays the head of a religious organization. He’s clearly the villain but his motivations stay murky.
Wilson brings menace to the role but can’t overcome the weak writing. Gérard Depardieu appears as Gorsky, the crime boss who hires Toorop.
He’s in the film for maybe ten minutes. It feels like his scenes were cut down significantly. The supporting characters feel incomplete. They serve plot functions but don’t feel like real people with real goals.
Animation and Visuals
The film creates a convincing post apocalyptic world. Eastern Europe looks devastated. Cities are falling apart. Technology is patched together.
War torn Russia looks desperate and dangerous. New York appears clean and controlled. This visual difference matters for the plot.
The action scenes are competent. Car chases, gunfights, and combat are professionally done and easy to follow.
But the action feels disconnected from the story. Fight scenes happen because action movies need them, not because the plot requires them.
Music and Soundtrack
The score by Atli Örvarsson tries to add weight but can’t overcome the film’s structural problems.
The music has an epic quality with big orchestral pieces during action and quieter themes for Aurora’s abilities. Örvarsson’s score suggests a grander film than what we got.
It doesn’t match what’s actually on screen. The disconnect is noticeable. The music tells you this is important. The rushed editing tells you something else.
The sound design is solid but nothing stands out. It does its job without being memorable.
Critical Reception
Babylon A.D. got destroyed by critics when it was released. Audiences weren’t much kinder to it either.
Professional Critics
Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars. He called it a “$70 million B movie” with a nonsensical plot that felt like it was missing crucial scenes.
Rotten Tomatoes shows a 6% critics score. That’s brutal. Most reviews mentioned the obvious studio interference.
Common complaints included the rushed ending, unclear plot, and wasted potential. The Hollywood Reporter called it “aggressively stupid.” Variety said it was “dead on arrival.”
Director’s Response
Mathieu Kassovitz publicly disowned the film. He said Fox cut his original version down and changed the ending completely. His cut was supposedly much longer and more coherent.
Kassovitz claimed the studio wanted a simpler action movie. They removed the philosophical elements. They shortened the runtime to maximize theater showings per day.
This context explains a lot. You can feel the missing pieces. Plot threads start but don’t finish. Characters disappear without explanation. The ending arrives abruptly.
Audience Reviews
Audience scores are slightly better than critics but still poor. Most viewers on Rotten Tomatoes gave it 2 to 3 stars out of 5.
Common audience complaints match the critics. The ending makes no sense. Too much happens off screen. The plot feels incomplete.
Some viewers appreciated the world building and action. Diesel fans found things to like. But even positive reviews acknowledged major problems.
A few people claimed the film works better if you ignore the plot and just enjoy the action. That’s not exactly high praise.
Overall Consensus
Everyone agrees Babylon A.D. is a mess. The debate is over who’s to blame and how much potential it had.
The performances are decent. The visual design shows effort. But the editing ruins everything. The film feels like it’s missing 30 minutes of crucial story.
Most critics and audiences recommend skipping it. Even bad movie fans find it frustrating rather than entertainingly bad.
Final Rating
Professional critics rate Babylon A.D. between 1 to 3 out of 10. Audience scores hover around 4 to 5 out of 10.
I’m giving it a 3 out of 10. The ambition was there. You can see glimpses of a better film. But what we got is barely coherent.
The action is okay. Diesel and Yeoh are watchable. But the story makes no sense. The ending feels like they just gave up.
This film works for nobody. If you want thoughtful sci fi, the themes are underdeveloped. If you want mindless action, the plot gets in the way. Everyone else should pass.
Conclusion
Babylon A.D. shows what happens when studio interference destroys a film. What might have been interesting became a choppy action movie that satisfies no one.
I’ve only watched it once. I have no desire to revisit it. That tells you everything.
You can find it on various streaming platforms. But I’d recommend spending your time on better scifi films or better Vin Diesel movies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Babylon A.D. appropriate for young children?
The film is rated PG 13 for violence and language. It’s fine for teenagers, but the confusing plot will bore younger kids.
Do I need to read the book to understand the movie?
The film is based on “Babylon Babies” by Maurice Dantec. Reading the book won’t help since the movie changed so much from the source material.
Is Babylon A.D. connected to any other films?
No, it’s a standalone film with no sequels or connections to other movies.
Where can I watch Babylon A.D.?
You can find it on Amazon Prime Video for rent or purchase. It also appears occasionally on cable movie channels.
What is the main message of Babylon A.D.?
The film tries to explore faith versus cynicism, but heavy editing cuts so much that the message gets lost in a confused action plot.
