Vin Diesel is back saving the world from a bleak future, instilling hope in the hopeless, and kicking some butt along the way. One of the last summer offerings of the season, “Babylon AD” stars Diesel as the mercenary Toorup. He’s hired by a big time Russian gangster named Gorsky (Gerard Depardieu) to escort someone to NYC. When Toorup goes to pick up his “package” from a Neolite (religious order) convent he discovers she’s a young nun named Aurora (Melanie Thierry). Also along for the voyage is Aurora’s guardian, Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh). The trio must escape Europe and get to American shores. Not an easy feat in this bleak future where borders are well guarded and other forces are trying to acquire Aurora for their own mysterious agendas.

“Babylon AD” didn’t exactly have the most massive (The Dark Knight) or relentless (Death Race) marketing campaign of the summer but enough trailers will get around to generate enough buzz for those looking for the newest theater thrill. At least, that's how I found out about this movie. It also doesn’t hurt to have established sci-fi hero, Vin Diesel, in the driver’s seat and revered action star, Michelle Yeoh, riding shotgun.

The movie itself is a decent sci-fi romp set in a familiar near future where technology is advanced enough to produce fighter drone aircraft and DNA altering substances. The adventure aspect was exciting to me. The trio take a train ride through a nuclear wasted city, find aid in a refugee camp, and then make a harrowing escape from the aforementioned drone-craft through some snowy mountains.

Besides the pretty scenery and the wild action sequences there is a good story to be found. Most of the plot is of course focused on the mysterious Aurora. Sister Rebekah says Aurora is simply a sick girl that is going to NYC for expert medical treatment. The young woman’s symptoms such as premonitions and the ability to operate a submarine with no prior training or experience lead some to believe she might be something far more dangerous than a flu bug carrier.

Toorup inevitably starts to bond with his two passengers especially Aurora who despite her shroud of mystery embodies strong feelings compassion and hope. These are emotions that Toorup has long forgotten during his mercenary days. By the end of the movie he will be a different man and his gradual redemption is worth watching.

Meanwhile, Sister Rebekah kept me wondering if she truly had her "daughter's" best interest at heart or was part of some darker conspiracy. 

I guess my only complaint was that there isn't a lot of detail about the future our characters reside in. I guess the director felt that viewers could just use the scenery to realize that the year two-thousand-whatever was a dangerous place to be alive unless you knew how to fight or belonged to a wealthy family. Other than that, I left the theater pretty satisfied.
 
Okay, time to wrap it up. Basically, it’s a good story with some good visuals. There are some action scenes but the scales are tipped more towards plot so don’t expect to see Miss Yeoh flying over the rooftops of NYC skyscrapers. Other notable performances include Charlotte Rampling as the so-pure-she’s-got-to-be-evil leader of the Neolite Ministries and Lambert Wilson shows up as a scientist that is more man than machine.

I felt that“Babylon AD” was a clean cut sci-fi adventure. While it doesn’t break the mold of past sci-fi epics it doesn’t make it smell like week old gym socks. At the very least, see it for Diesel and Yeoh. Usually any project they’re attached to is worth viewing and this one is worth attention.