Aeon Flux

Many years ago I was fortunate enough to catch a bizarre animated short series on MTV. This was Aeon Flux. It was strangely haunting and surreal and somehow gave the impression of being French.

Now this cult classic makes the live-action transition to the big screen. Charlize Theron, stars as Aeon Flux and Marton Csoskas as Trevor Goodchild, the leader of Bregna - and apparently a perfect society, where everything is clean and bright, antiseptic and neat (Switzerland?). However, like Utopia before it, such apparent perfection exists because of a terrible secret - too terrible to divulge here. Aeon works as an agent for a terrorist group, called the Monicans, whose sworn purpose is to destroy Bregna and its founder/leader, the not-so-good Chariman Goodchild.

This wonderfully entertaining action picture has something of a James Bond vibe, with its oddly curvaceous and organic set design, reminiscent of sci-fi films from the late Sixties. Theron is like a demented rubber band spider as she leaps and scampers up and over all obstacles in her path. Handy biotech gadgets are conjured from nowhere to assist her in her mission - my favourite was the explosive ball bearings that come running when you whistle.

The story of a grand conspiracy unfolds - double and triple cross betrayals that would not look out of place in the Senate of Ancient Rome - and it is told with pace and verve. The action scenes owe very little to the now tired bullet time tomfoolery of recent blockbusters, while Theron's physicality is breathtaking.

This is not great art and the plot is not terribly original, but it is well paced, with visual flair that captures the oddity of the original source. If you are looking for well-executed comic book action fun, then this should satisfy. Just don't expect the answers to the meaning of life.