Babylon A.D. Offers Few Reasons To Watch

By Connect2Mason Reporter Emily Culley

If you think the synopsis of Vin Diesel's newest blockbuster, Babylon A.D. sounds a little too far fetched, just wait until the movie starts unraveling the secrets hidden deep inside this embedded plot structure. Adapted from the French book Babylon Babies, the movie is set in the not too distant future, Toorop (Diesel) finds himself helping two women crossing the world from Eastern Europe to New York City.

Aurora, a young insightful child of a convent, has developed certain “conditions” over the past couple of months. Her nun, Sister Rebeka, accompanies Toorop to New York seeing that Aurora gets the protection from the various societies.

The movie begins in Russia, where Toorop is exiled from America living in utter squalor with little electricity, no cars, and few things to eat. As the trio makes their way across the continent and towards the States, there are subtle hints about the state of the world. While Russia appears to be in a devastating depression, the United States is flourishing higher than before.

Additionally, Toorop makes subtle hints about the biological state of humans and animals. A particular scene between Toorop and Aurora stands out, where the existence of tigers comes into question—which went extinct in 2017; and genetic modification and cloning seem to stir a fierce religious questioning between the two.

Don't go and see this movie for Diesel's acting; he will let you down, as he always does. The more heartfelt scenes boarder on the comedic due to Diesel's inability to stir any emotion within himself, though I have to admit that he has gotten closer in this movie than any other that I have seen to date.

Also, don't see the film for its logic. Ihe two major countries we see (the United States and Russia) are depicted as extravagant in either direction; neither of the two boarding believable or logical in any sense of the word.

But see it for what it stirs in you mentally, as I am sure the book does to a much higher level; the movie will no doubt have you questioning the role of human interaction within genetic modification in contrast to the role religion plays in our lives now.

Additionally, there is a huge emphasis (almost to the satirical point) on the use of weaponry and modern technology. The movie itself has some questionable scenes and motifs withing the plot and dialog, though it is not completely terrible. Overall, it was enjoyable. C+.