Karyn Kusama directs Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand and Marton Csokas in this sci-fi actioner where a rebel super assassin finds herself unravelling a greater conspiracy.

There’s an action set piece where our slinky anti-hero has to outfox some organic security devices in an ornate garden. Like everything here it just runs like a cut-scene. Flat, weightless, stripped bare to the point where it has no life. There is some fascinating production design lost in the background – there’s little glimpses of a future society that might feel genuinely unfathomable. The plot has been gutted in the edit and uncertain reshoots have panel beaten this into something that is both overly complicated and vapid. This feels very indebted to The Matrix / Equilibrium but makes them seem sophisticated and gritty. I’m aware this adaptation is a waste of a much loved anime that preceded the trend. I chanced Aeon Flux belatedly for Theron and she seems dead inside – not an acting choice. There is one memorable bit of business involving a fight over two dimensions… but that is not enough to rehabilitate this stinker’s duff reputation.

3

Perfect Double Bill: Equlibrium (2002)

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We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/