Vin Diesel (Mark Sinclair Vincent) will have a new movie out this summer, and as an added bonus he is going back to the roots of what made his film career flourish. The latest film will be his 10th and is a sci-fi film.
The world of the film is reminiscent of William Gibson’s Mona Lisa Overdrive. Sprawls exist, as do bio-enhancements of both the chemical and mechanical varieties. In this crowded, violent world upgrades to strength speed or enabling connections to computers seem to be necessary for anyone that wants to move up from the dregs of society. Of course in a world where people are more resilient weapons become more deadly.
That’s where the plot comes in. Based on Babylon Babies, there is also the element of other films here. Gloria or the more recent (and horrendously bad revision of Gloria) Ultraviolet, come to mind. As does a bit of Mad Max, Soylent Green, and maybe a dash of D.O.A.
Essentially, from what I have read of the film, bio-weapons are common in this world. Unlike the randomness of say anthrax, these future bugs are very specific in nature. That’s why Vin Diesel’s character – a loner out for himself (ala Han Solo maybe) – is given a job of transporting a woman form Russia to Canada and then America. This woman is not ordinary at all. She is enhanced with defensive tools and carries the ultimate prize – a baby unlike any other in the world.
The question becomes how deadly is her baby, does she want to give up her child, should Vin Diesel complete his contract, and what is actually the best thing to do for the world. Of course his one immediate question is what is best for him, and does the fate of the world include or conflict with that answer.
The video clips of the film look interesting. It’s gritty, dark and seething with impending doom. This is the Vin Diesel we all have come to enjoy. The Triple X/Riddick style of quasi-good guy that he does well. I expect that there is no good guy in this film, just gradations on bad. And Diesel shines in that kind of role.
Of course he is not alone. Michele Yeoh is in this film as well. Likely as a sometimes competitor/ally that is familiar with some aspect of the world that Diesel needs to complete his mission. Which means she will be kicking ass in a major way. If Jackie Chan thinks she can do her own stunts, then any film not allowing her to bloody up a few opponents has failed. According to the trailer they didn’t fail in that respect.
Add in the fact that Lambert Wilson is in the film. You may recall him from the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies. He has a nice polished Euro-trash villain look so that could be a bonus as well.
And for those tattoo enthusiast, or those that notice details, the tattoo Diesel wears is from the Necronomicon as designed by Khem Caigan.
Is this going to be a blockbuster film? Possibly not. It’s coming at the end of the summer season. Meaning that Hollywood execs didn’t think it was strong enough to compete with Iron Man or Dark Knight films. Yet Pitch Black was in a similar situation and while not on the record-setting pace of some films it was a huge success.
Sill I look forward to seeing this film. Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh are pretty well known for picking good films to be in (with the glaring exception of the Pacifier). That ups the odds of this being a solid film. But it’s only another 25 or so days til the movie hits the theaters so we won’t have long to find out.
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