Remember those childhood days when your mom asked you for the explanations behind your acts? Back then you wanted a world where explanation and motivation would be inexistent and no one at all would think about such utopia. As such thing was fantastic, you would have been pleased if your mom had accepted your illogical babbling. Well, your childhood desire is coming true, too late and too unfortunate, in a movie, this weekend’s opening, “Babylon A.D.”

It is not the first time French director Mathieu Kassovitz makes a bad movie. That happened in the past, with the resounding flop of “Gothika,” starring Halle Berry. Oops, he did it again, Kassovitz himself admitting more or less bluntly that “Babylon A.D.” isn’t exactly the best movie ever. Or the best movie of the summer (no way, that’s why “The Dark Knight” exists). If it gathers enough young males (the movie is PG-13 rated), it may at least be the best movie of the weekend. The analysts estimate the box office earnings at around $17 million during the 4-day weekend.

But what’s so wrong about “Babylon A.D.”? Based on the impressively large work (more than 700 pages) of French writer Maurice G. Dantec “Babylon Babies,” the movie is a mishmash of “The Fifth Element,” “Children of Men” and “Terminator.” It lacks logic – what we were saying earlier, about explanations – and it is includes a lot of talking – that babbling that is intended to substitute the logical explanations -. It even includes Vin Diesel’s main character saying “You need two things to survive in this business: your balls and your word.” (Maybe kids will be impressed, who knows?)

The business Diesel makes reference to is being a mercenary, and that’s what Toorop (Diesel) is. A retired merc who is talked again into the business by Gorsky (Gerard Depardieu) and assigned a difficult task: to bring naïf young Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) and her guardian (Michelle Yeoh) from Russia to New York. The flick is set in a not-so-far future, where chaos is the word. There are moments when Toorop meditates to the deontological aspects of his mercenary mission “Save the planet? What for? And from what? Ourselves?”, making the movie almost impossible to bear.

The ‘road trip’ consists of perpetual defense from various attacks and Toorop’s acknowledgement that Aurora possesses some rare powers that must be saved. And this engenders the deepest (?) inner dilemma Toorop has: should he be profit-oriented or should he be rare powers-protective?

The ads and teasers preceding the movie’s opening presented the special effects with which the film boasts. Well, they’re not that impressive. We’ve seen a lot better. And Vin Diesel did lot better a job in gigs like “Boiler Room” or “Saving Private Ryan.” Unfortunately for Fox, if “Babylon A.D.” is a box office winner this weekend, it won’t be but due to the fact that its competitors were even weaker.

Movie Type:Drama, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller and Adaptation
MPAA Rating:PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language and some sexuality.
Directed By: Mathieu Kassovitz
Cast: Vincent Cassel, Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Melanie Thierry, Gerard Depardieu
Released: August 29th, 2008 (wide)