Babylon A.D. (2008)

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.

Director:

Mathieu Kassovitz

Writers:

Maurice G. Dantec (novel), Mathieu Kassovitz (screenplay)

Stars:

Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vin Diesel	...	Toorop
Michelle Yeoh	...	Sister Rebeka
Mélanie Thierry	...	Aurora
Gérard Depardieu	...	Gorsky
Charlotte Rampling	...	The High Priestess
Mark Strong	...	Finn
Lambert Wilson	...	Darquandier
Jérôme Le Banner	...	Killa
Joel Kirby	...	Dr. Newton
Souleymane Dicko	...	Jamal
David Belle	...	Kid with Tattoos
Radek Bruna	...	Karl
Jan Unger	...	Fight Promoter
Abraham Belaga	...	Assistant to High Priestess
Gary Cowan	...	Neolite Executive

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnant | veteran turned mercenary | cult | street shootout | road movie | 

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Taglines:

Save the World One Child at a Time.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lambert Wilson was cast late in production.

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Goofs

The "mirror" at the hotel where Toorop showers is a monitor showing a live feed, and lags a little behind the actions he makes...except when it "lags" ahead, revealing that the image is prerecorded and not live.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD release in America is 2-sided. On one side is the "Theatrical version" and on the other side is an unrated version. Both have different endings. The unrated version also has some added footage, deleted scenes, and extended scenes.

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

No. 6 In A Major 'Allegretto Grazioso' (Spring Song)
Written by Felix Mendelssohn (as Felix Mendelssohn)
Courtesy of Extreme Music
Published by Extreme Production Music USA

User Reviews

Find the longer cut!

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!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France]

Country:

France UK USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

29 August 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Babylon Babies

Filming Locations:

Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,484,627, 31 August 2008

Gross USA:

$22,532,572

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$72,109,200

Company Credits

Production Co:

Babylon, MNP Entreprise, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 101 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1