Aeon Flux - 4K UHD Limited Edition (AU Import)

In the 25th century, the surviving human population after a devastating viral pandemic is confined to a single city named Bregna, surrounded by a world that has been overrun by nature. The five million or so people are at the mercy of a government run by the cold, calculated whims of a scientific congress. Their so-called freedom is an illusion, and all that they do is in the service of a totalitarian rule. People identified as troublemakers and rabblerousers, who speak out against the rule of the government, routinely go missing. The rulers of the city present these sacrifices as a small price to pay for living in a utopia, but it's just a thin, flimsy facade to disguise a good old-fashioned dystopia.

The Monicans are an underground group of rebels who fight back against the authoritarianism that rules the city of Bregna. Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron), all-around badass and warrior extraordinaire, is a member of the rebel group, and after a mission, the government believes her sister is the one responsible and has her killed. Wracked with guilt and anger, she heads a mission to assassinate a government ruler, only to find that the Monicans are being lied to and manipulated, that the truth about the government goes farther and deeper than anyone could ever imagine. The dreams that plague the city's inhabitants, the disappearances, the secrecy, they're all in service of the same twisted goal.

Aeon Flux is not an entirely successful film, but it's not for lack of trying. Aesthetically, it's a sight to behold. It's gorgeous. It remains faithful to its animated roots, an adaptation of an animated series on MTV's Liquid Television, in the best possible way. The front-facing image of the city is too clean, stark, soulless, infinite in its sprawl. In the alleyways and hidden corridors beneath, it's large and grotesque, terrifying and monstrous. The special effects, save for a few composite shots, have aged marvelously. And the action is hyper-stylized, reminiscent of Asian cinema from Hong Kong actioners to Japanese anime.  

After previewing the film to studio suits, director Karyn Kusama's vision was retooled from the ground up, which rendered the story incomprehensible and, worst of all, dull. Without having an emotional connection to any of the characters or even knowing the characters beyond their name and the loosest association with the plot, none of the action means anything. It's a shame, because there are some sequences that manage to work, despite everything stacked against it. The scene where Aeon leaps from a tall building and grabs hold of an aircraft is terrific action filmmaking. It's exciting, gorgeously realized, and tense--even though it's all special effects, it feels grounded and real, because she doesn't succeed right away. Had this scene been in a better film, or one more true to the director's vision, it would have been a masterclass in big-budget filmmaking.

Aeon Flux is not a terrible movie; it's just a shame. It has so much going for it, but it all builds to a lot of empty sound and fury with no emotional resonance. Apparently, a director's cut does exist and has been seen by a rare few. I'd like to see that movie because the version released has hints and glimpses into something truly special, which comes so tantalizingly close, before fizzling out.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Aeon Flux comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray in a gorgeous set. The film is included on two discs, a 4K disc and a Blu-ray disc, housed in a standard case. The standard case, and a collection of art cards featuring screenshots from the film, are enveloped by a lenticular hardcase.

While Aeon Flux may, sadly, be a mess as a narrative feature, it is a visual sight to behold. Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography pulls off an intricate balancing act--it knows to go big, and it knows when to go subtle. Those moments, both big and small, are intricately detailed and tell so much of the film's story visually. We have such a sense of emotion through the lighting and the shadows, two worlds of the city at odds with each other. The production design, too, presents us with a cinematic experience that blends the world of anime with a grounded live-action realism without feeling like it's some knockoff, store-brand version of The Matrix.

I'm not sure what restoration process was involved in bringing Aeon Flux to 4K, but it looks spectacular. Film grain is slight, but apparent in brightly-lit sequences, while low-light sequences are cloaked in inky black shadows. Details are sharply rendered, and while the overall color palette skews toward muted neutrals, skin tones pop, along with an occasional red shock of blood in a violent shootout.

Subtlety is not something that exists in the sound design of Aeon Flux, a 5.1 surround mix encoded in DTS-HD MA. From the opening moments, with a fly buzzing freely throughout the soundstage--from front to ear, from side to side--we are under constant assault from the sound design. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Subtlety is overrated. It's bombastic. It's over-the-top. And it's awesome. Graeme Revell's score (he also composed The Crow), the sound of gunfire, the atmospheric effects, they all surround the listener throughout, with constant satellite speaker activity, but without ever losing sight of the dialogue that propels the story forward. As loud and as ferocious as it often gets, it's leveled with the utmost precision and care.

Aside from the new 4K presentation, no new features have been collected for this release of Aeon Flux. All features listed are legacy supplements from its initial DVD release. And while that may be a bummer for fans of the film, the supplements are robust, so for first-time buyers, there is a slick offering to look inside the film's production history.

4K Disc

• Audio Commentary - Actress Charline Theron and Producer Gale Anne Hurd
• Audio Commentary - Co-writers Phil May and Matt Manfredi
• Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary - Actress Charline Theron and Producer Gale Anne Hurd
• Audio Commentary - Co-writers Phil May and Matt Manfredi
• Creating a World: Aeon Flux (SD 20:49)
• The Locations of Aeon Flux (SD 14:47)
• The Stunts of Aeon Flux (SD 9:03)
• The Costume Design Workshop of Aeon Flux (SD 13:36)
• The Craft of the Set Photographer on Aeon Flux (SD 3:34)
• The Effects of Aeon Flux (SD 28:52)
• Theatrical Trailer

There's so much to admire in Aeon Flux; it's a shame that the movie itself is such a mess. Visually, it's a feast for the eyes. Auditorily, it's an obnoxious, boisterous ballet of bullets and mayhem. Imprint Films and Via Vision have given Aeon Flux an incredible 4K video presentation, along with a hell of a 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix. As a narrative, it's a slog. As a technical product, it's impeccable. Aeon Flux is Worth a Look.