Veteran-turned-mercenary Toorop takes the high-risk job of escorting a woman from Russia to America. Little does he know that she is host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified Messiah.
The wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.
Left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick finds himself up against an alien race of predators. Activating an emergency beacon alerts two ships: one carrying a new breed of mercenary, the other captained by a man from Riddick's past.
A commercial transport ship and its crew are marooned on a planet full of bloodthirsty creatures that only come out to feast at night. But then, they learn that a month-long eclipse is about to occur.
In a near future, the mercenary Toorop is hired by the powerful criminal Gorsky to take a woman named Aurora from a Noelite Convent in Central Asia to New York. In return, he will receive a large amount of money and a clear passport. Toorop joins Aurora and her guardian Sister Rebeka as they cross the dangerous Russian landscape chased by mercenaries that also want Aurora. On their journey, Toorop discovers that Aurora has special abilities and once in New York, they see on the news that the Noelite Convent has just been bombed. When Aurora discloses that she is a virgin and pregnant with twins, Toorop realizes that there is something sinister behind his mission and that he and Sister Rebeka are not part of Gorsky's plans.Written by
MissTrious, UK
The movie got almost no promotion, due to a feud between Mathieu Kassovitz and 20th Century Fox over the final version. See more »
Goofs
While it was correctly noted that Troitsk was at 54°06'N and 61°34'E on the screen, the camera that tracked the trio in the marketplace showed the coordinates of 54°32'N and 18°18'E, which is farmland northwest of Gdansk in Poland. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Toorop:
[voice-over]
Save the planet. Whenever I've read that bumper sticker I've had to laugh. Save the planet. What for? And for what, ourselves? What about God, can He help us? I don't think so. God gave us what we have to see how we use it. Shit, rats in a cage would have done it better. Life's a bitch and then you die - bumper sticker philosophy. Yeah, right. Sometimes, you get a second chance.
See more »
Alternate Versions
Some of the main differences between the 20th Century Fox aka theatrical version and Studio Canal aka unrated version are as follows:
The opening sequence monologue of Toorop is different. The narration in the unrated version matches the cyberpunk tone of the movie and denounces God.
The unrated version follows with a sequence of Toorop waking up in his flat and having breakfast before he sets out to the rainy street, which is where the theatrical version starts.
On the train to Vladivostok the unrated version includes a scene of an encounter with a herdsman's family from whom Toorop tries to buy-off their seats.
In the Vladivostok club all the sequences of Aurora's encounters with the fighter are edited differently. The unrated edition employs more close-ups to establish the connection between them, whereas the theatrical version uses mainly wide shots.
The fight between Toorop and the fighter is also edited differently. The unrated version has more shots of Toorop hitting the fighter to fit better with his not so much of a clear-cut hero image.
The snowmobile chase is different in the two versions. The theatrical version features more spectacular stunt shots and shows Toorop more as an unbeatable action hero.
Before the sequence in the tent where they all enjoy the food, the unrated version features a shot of Toorop shooting a cute rabbit. The theatrical version does not explain where they got the meat.
The unrated version follows the shower scene in the Canadian motel with the scene of the High Priestess undergoing plastic surgery which was included in the theatrical version at the beginning after the group left the monastery (in the unrated version after this scene follows a montage of wide shots of the car cruising the landscape). The unrated edition omits the whole sequence on the Canadian airport.
The sequence of Toorop's memory scanning in the unrated version is much longer, revealing his whole past and his terrorist activities, including 9/11. After the scanning the unrated version includes a dialogue scene with Toorop and Darquandier elaborating on Aurora's babies and the next step of mankind's evolution. The scene concludes with Darquandier's troops informing them about the short arrival of the High Priestess (this part is included in the theatrical version after the death of Gorsky).
The unrated version omits the climatic action sequence with the Hummer chase and also the kitschy happy ending with Toorop and the two babies. The unrated version ends with Toorop's narration after his reunion with Aurora and than follows with a much longer scene in the hospital. This ending is true to the spirit of cyberpunk.
Also many tracking shots in the film are significantly longer in the unrated edition, making it more focused on the society and the world of the future in comparison to the action-oriented theatrical version.
I fortunately watched Babylon A.D. first from the net and it seems it was (unfortunately) the wiser thing to do because it was the longer cut! Babylon A.D. is not a bad movie even with the 90 minute version but it lacks heavily what the longer cut offers.
I was mostly disappointed (therefore rating 6 which would've been 8++ something otherwise) about the ending of the shorter version which really sucks if you have seen the other one (i did think that here in Europe they would automatically release the 160 min version but no..). Money wasted on that 'cos I was not expecting this kind of cut.
Nevertheless I still enjoyed the plot, the visuals and the very stylized world what this movie brought to the table. The action scenes were also enjoyable. Hopefully Hopefully the better version will be released on DVD! Shame on you studios for not giving this movie the respect it deserves!
36 of 46 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
The 91st Academy Awards isn't the first year the show won't have a host, but it will be the first time since the 1989 Snow White and Rob Lowe incident. So will the 2019 Oscars still rock you?
I fortunately watched Babylon A.D. first from the net and it seems it was (unfortunately) the wiser thing to do because it was the longer cut! Babylon A.D. is not a bad movie even with the 90 minute version but it lacks heavily what the longer cut offers.
I was mostly disappointed (therefore rating 6 which would've been 8++ something otherwise) about the ending of the shorter version which really sucks if you have seen the other one (i did think that here in Europe they would automatically release the 160 min version but no..). Money wasted on that 'cos I was not expecting this kind of cut.
Nevertheless I still enjoyed the plot, the visuals and the very stylized world what this movie brought to the table. The action scenes were also enjoyable. Hopefully Hopefully the better version will be released on DVD! Shame on you studios for not giving this movie the respect it deserves!