Flux Capacitator

Well Sunday, in celebration of the restoration of power, I went with a friend to see Aeon Flux at the movie theater. Aeon is based on a series of MTV animated shorts from around 1995. I remember when they were on, and I remember how very strange they were. The idea that someone could take those disjoint story pieces and surreal setting, and create a whole movie, without requiring you to smoke something before seeing it, sparked my interest. I’ll ramble on about it shortly or longly.

I want to mention the appropriateness of Aeon’s surname. Flux is an interesting word. It is a flow of material or force, a change in force, or something that facilitates a flow or change. And for those that are uninitiated, that is exactly what Aeon is. She is an assassin: an instrument of change and changing herself.

I want to mention how I much liked the original series. It was one of the first series I ever watched that demonstrated some of the animation and plot types that frequent anime. The surreal and discontinuous nature of the series always made it a must watch for me.

As for the movie, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, except for Charlize Theron. I wondered how someone could make a movie out of the near chaos that was the original series. However, the plot for this movie is much better than I expected. There is continuity, but there is also an air of confusion at the beginning that slowly clears. The world of lies that in which the character lives dissolves around her until the truth is revealed. The she changes the world. Flux.

I liked it a lot more than I was expecting to. I liked all the little things that paid homage to the original series, like the characters, devices, and settings. If you liked the original series, or like anime of various types, then you should like this movie. I think the 12% on Rotten Tomatoes is unnecessarily harsh. The users gave it a 64% instead, and that’s a wide gulf. I personally think it should have gotten about 34% on RT. Therefore I recommend all Aeon Flux and anime fans see the movie at a matinee showing. If not then it is definitely a rental. I might even have to add the DVD to my collection.