Review of Babylon A.D. (2008) by Alexander Z — 06 Oct 2011

First of all, don't watch the theatrical version. It's been edited so poorly it's easy to understand why so many people hated it. The unrated version is edited far more competently. Despite being only ten minutes longer, all the scenes now have room to breathe, nothing feels rushed, and character development and plot are not sidelined in favor of action scenes.

However, it's still a flawed movie. It just feels so derivative of a lot of other science fiction movies, like a cross between Children of Men, Fifth Element and Blade Runner, with a bit of Soylent Green thrown in.

Some derivative movies, like Equilibrium, still find a style of their own despite being unoriginal. Babylon A.D. never seems to find a voice, even though the concept, which is revealed in the final third, actually is interesting.