Yowazzup: A Directory of Happening Things

Babylon A.D. is a futuristic movie based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec, starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Mélanie Thierry.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Melanie Thierry in "Babylon A.D."

The movie begins with the voice of Vin Diesel telling the stories of his life. He mentioned that everyday we see signs of saving the planet but from who? From ourselves? Then he said “I’m tired, tired of it all.”

Toorop (Vin Diesel) is a retired war soldier and lives a war torn life in Eastern Europe. He is having breakfast when a SWAT team busts in to bring him to Gorsky (Gerard Depardieu). Gorsky wants Toorop to take the job of escorting a woman named Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) from Eastern Europe to New York. Toorop demands half a million and Gorsky agrees.

Toorop then goes inside a car which is carried by a helicopter to a Mongolia convent where Sister Rebecca (Michelle Yeoh) is waiting for him. She tells Toorop that wherever Aurora goes, she will goes with her.

So, the journey begins and the three set off to a train station in Kazakhstan where a bomb detonates but Aurora has predicted it and they survive.

Then, they stop at Vladivostok nightclub as Toorop plans to meet his friend, Finn (Mark Strong) there who can provide transport to the United States. Some unidentified men show up and offers Toorop a million dollar, tax free. Somehow, Toorop prefers half a million dollar better and fights them off and tries to escape with Sister Rebecca and Aurora but he ends up in a cage which is staging Ultimate Fighting Championship-style death matches as Aurora is protected by the fighter. Toorop has no choice but to survive by killing him off.

The men who tries to kidnap Aurora claim they are sent by Aurora’s father, which Sister Rebecca and Aurora have thought he has been long dead, which makes Toorop even more confused. Somewhat, he still stays with the girls and they have to fight their way into a submarine before arriving in North America.

In North America, snowmobiles await them and they travel at a high speed but is tracked down and chased by fighter jets. Toorop distracts the jets and even escapes at least two guided missiles before plunging his snowmobile into one of the jets causing both to explode. Miraculously, Toorop survives.

When they finally reach New York — in which the futuristic New York is pictured with more skyscrapers and tonnes of electronic billboards, Toorop prepares to hand in Aurora to Gorsky’s men whom in turn will hand her in to Neolite Priestess (Charlotte Rampling). However, a television channel reports news of the Mongolian convent being bombed has changed Toorop’s mind. Instead of handling her to either one of the gangs, he opens fire and once again they run. Only now, Toorop learns that Aurora is the host to an organism that has the potential to become the next Messiah and everybody wants to get their hands on it. But it’s too late as Aurora fires a shot at him to prevent him being killed by a guided missile.

Toorop is later resurrected by Aurora’s creator, Darquandier. Toorop is seen with artificial leg and his right arm is fitted with metals. Although, Toorop manages to find Aurora in the end, it is unknown how Aurora dies as she gives birth to twin girls of whom Aurora hands them to Toorop’s care.

Overall, it is a movie with a good storyline. However, Vin Diesel seems like a very tired mercenary whom at first willing to transport Aurora to New York for half a million dollar but refuses a million dollar, tax-free?

Unlike what Toorop said earlier in the movie, “I learned something that day: you can’t always walk away. Too bad it was the day I died”, you can still walk away from this movie.

My ratings: 5 out of 10.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Babylon A.D. is a science fiction film based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec. The film is being directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and stars Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Hitman is a movie based on the popular video game by Eidos with the same title. An assassin known only as Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant) is always on target and almost cold-blooded. Trained since he was orphan by a secret society only known as “The Organization”, Agent 47 has killed many victims from all over the world. For that, Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott who plays Ian, Susan’s lover in Desperate Housewives), an Interpol officer keeps pursuing Agent 47, wherever he goes.

Agent 47 is the Hitman

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In one of Agent 47’s assignment in Russia, 47 is assigned to kill Mikhail Belicoff, a newly assigned Russian President. However, after killing Belicoff almost 4 kilometers away, 47 realizes he is set up when he receives an order to kill Nika (Olga Kurylenko), a Russian prostitute who is said to have witness the assassination of Belicoff. 47 does not manage to kill Nika because he feels that Nika has not even seen him before. Thus, 47 is ensnared in a political conspiracy which involves the Russian military.

Along the way, he kidnaps Nika before he soon realizes Nika is Belicoff’s toy whom he has used to set up 47. And Belicoff himself is the hirer. Nika tells 47 that Belicoff has a double and that’s why he’s not dead yet. Along the way he encounters numerous other hit men assigned to take him and Nika out. Nika offers him sex numerous times but 47, being a true killer, declines her offers.

Nika attempts to seduce 47

Instead of killing Nika, 47 sees something different in her as Nika is also an orphan and a slave who does not want to live the way she is living. She also has a tattoo on her head like him - a dragon tattoo on her left cheek.

In many instances, 47 cleverly deceives the Interpol and the Russian military. Along the way, he has killed many Russian military men, and numerous other hit men. Often, he hides his weapons in other places and when the need arises, he knows where to find his guns.

Though the movie is one of the best video game adaptation movies, it lacks a certain subtlety which otherwise would have been a good movie. Olga Kurylenko, a Ukrainian model and actress, played her role well. Whereas, Timothy Olyphant is the perfect man for Agent 47 as he’s suave and simply cold-blooded but yet has the look of an innocent orphan who has no choice in choosing his own destiny. No one else would have played Agent 47 better than Timothy. Perhaps the executive director of the film, actor Vin Diesel would excel as Agent 47 but that is a different story altogether.

My rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Popularity: 6% [?]