Aeon Flux (2005)

A disease swept the earth and killed 99% of the population.  Trevor Goodchild cured the disease, and the survivors now live within the walled city of Bregna.  It has been 410 years and the Goodchilds that entire time.  Among the populace are those who oppose Goodchild rule; they are the Monicans.  Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) is a Monican agent who never fails.  She has been given the assignment to kill Trevor Goodchild (Martin Csokas).  When she stands before him with her gun aimed at his head, he calls her "Catherine."  Flashes of memory cause her to hesitate.  Then she is captured.  That Trevor refuses to have the assassin executed caused a political shakeup among the elites, especially his younger brother, Oren Goodchild (Jonny Lee Miller).  Aeon's hesitation marks her as unreliable and sets Monicans against her, notably her protege, Sithandra (Sophi Okonedo).

The movie is almost, but not entirely, unlike the TV show.  Both Aeon and Trevor have been watered down to puddles of mush.  Aeon is soft and emotional, uncertain what she is doing or where she is going.  Trevor is all good and entirely right on his positions.  This is not some tyrant who is doing it for the good of his people, whether they like it or not.  No, he is a truly good man, no ambiguities.  The dark sides of Trevor's personality from the TV show have been stripped from him and give to his newly-created brother, Oren.  Oren is the bad guy.  He's all bad, no redeeming qualities.

The big surprise is that the disease was never cured, they just came up with a workaround.  Humanity was sterile, unable to reproduce.  The Goodchilds reused DNA from those who died to reintroduce them into the population.  Of course, there was no way this could have been kept a secret for 400 years, but it was.  Also, Trevor and Oren were making clones of themselves and training them to be the same.  Gee, Trevor Goodchild has been ruler for 400 years and - looking at the statues, posters, and banners - looks exactly the same all that time.  The cloning bit should not come as a surprise to anyone, but it does.

The same year, The Island (2005), was released.  It also had clones.  A new clone was a blithering idiot but as time went on, they gained the knowledge and memories of the original.  That is what happened here as well.  Meh.

As a standalone film, it is mediocre.  As an adaptation of Aeon Flux, it is a disaster.  This is not Aeon Flux in look, in tone, in characters, or even in setting.  Creator Peter Chung was not involved in the making of the movie and viewed the result as a travesty.

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