Babylon A. D.

(France/Great Britain, 2008, 101 minutes)

In an apocalyptic near-future, a jaded mercenary is hired to take a mysterious orphan from a remote convent in Eastern Europe to New York. Muddled, dystopian sci-fi actioner with a history of production troubles that should explain why such an intriguing, if derivative, premise and good production values are so spectacularly and incomprehensibly derailed in a baffling final half hour, but not why its action sequences are so bad. 

A Studiocanal release. Babylon AD SAS and MNP Entreprise present, in association with Studiocanal, a Babylon AD SAS/Babylon Films Limited/M6 Films/Studiocanal production, with the participation of M6, Centre National de la Cinématographie and Canal Plus. Starring Vin Diesel; Mélanie Thierry, Michelle Yeoh, Lambert Wilson, Mark Strong, Jérôme le Banner; with the special participation of Charlotte Rampling and Gérard Depardieu. Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz; produced by Ilan Goldman; screenplay by Mathieu Kassovitz and Éric Besnard, adapted and revised by Joseph Simas, based on the novel by Maurice G. Dantec, Babylon Babies; music by Atli Örvarsson; director of photography (colour, Panavision), Thierry Arbogast; production designers, Sonja Klaus, Paul Cross; costume designers, Chattoune & Fab; film editor, Benjamin Weill; visual effects supervisor, Stéphane Ceretti.