I was a fan of this strange animated show when it first came on MTV back in the mid-90s. I've only seen a fraction of the episodes, but appreciated its take-no-prisoners, Heavy Metal approach to animation and the future. So when the live-action movie was announced, I had misgivings. I'm a Charlize Theron fan, true. Rare is the movie that is so bad her presence doesn't improve things a notch. Even so, the mixed reviews that I read on this one gave me pause. But with everything being iced in around here, Lisa and I decided to give it a chance as a DVD rental.
Very, very disappointing is the verdict. It's not awful, just relentlessly mediocre with tiny flashes of throwaway brilliance to remind you how good it could have been. Standard-issue, Hollywood cliche-ridden plot. For once I'd like a movie centered around cloning not to stoop to giving the characters memories of their former selves. Gag. It's a very, very stylish movie, with great location shots. But the direction is muddled more often than not and there are more "as you know, Bob" infodumps than you can shake a stick at. Ultimately, this movie is nothing more than a mirror-universe remake of Logan's Run. Think about it--in Logan, the carousel is the center of society, but rebirth is a fraud. In Aeon, a secret, Carousel-esqe cabal eliminates certain members of society to ensure that rebirth may continue in perpetuity. Which might have made an interesting movie, only Aeon wasn't it.
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