This month, Cody, Robert, and Nat discuss the perils of adaptation without a clear vision with 2005’s AEON FLUX.
On paper AEON FLUX looks like it had a chance. Charlize Theron had recently won an Oscar for MONSTER. Frances McDormand was at the height of her popularity. Johnny Lee Miller had made a bit of a splash in TRAINSPOTTING. Pete Postlethwaite was a well liked character actor. Karyn Kusama was coming off her well regarded debut GIRLFIGHT. And, Aeon Flux was a well regarded, if avant garde, cartoon that proceeded things like THE MATRIX. So, all the ingredients seem to be in place for a hit.
As you’ll discover when you listen, we were all fans of the animated series, or at least the Liquid Television segments. And you’ll discover just how perplexed we are by the adaptation.
The lede is kind of buried here, but AEON FLUX currently sports a Rotten Tomatoes aggregate of 9% positive. No that isn’t a typo. And, frankly, none of us are inclined to raise that.
So, we have quite a bit of discussion about what we like in the original and what we don’t like in the adaptation. Things like, are the bad guys really bad? Is the future dystopia really dystopian? And what motivates anyone? And are any of these action sequences, which are clearly inspired by THE MATRIX, truly exciting?
You don’t need to clone yourself to enjoy the podcast; give us a play below or download the episode. Also, feel free to let us know what you think by commenting on our page at Facebook or you can Email Us at skiespocast@gmail.com as we appreciate feedback.
Time tracks:
0:00:00 – AEON FLUX Discussion
0:54:53- Next Movie and Outro
Next month, we return to an old favorite, Terence Fisher, and the arguable climax of Hammer’s Frankenstein series with FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED. We hope you’ll join us.
