Aeon Flux

Charlize Theron in Aeon Flux, where the acting definitely takes second place to the action.

(Herald rating * * )

Aeon Flux is based on a series of animated shorts that screened on MTV, and is a futuristic sci-fi action flick directed by Karyn Kusama (writer/director Girlfight) who has taken a minimalist, stylised tone with the film.

Aeon Flux is set in the swanky designed world of Bregna, a man-made city surrounded by walls which is home to the final few million people who survived after an industrial disease wiped out the rest of earth's population in 2011.

Four hundred years have passed, and the city of Bregna is under the rule of its original architects, the Goodchild family. As time has passed this perfect utopia is slowly unravelling. Rebels known as the Monicans are determine to bring down the Goodchild Government, and discover why its citizens are suffering from strange memory flashbacks and are mysteriously disappearing.

Aeon Flux looks fantastic. It's slick and clean with a bland palette of white, grey and concrete contrasting vibrantly with splashes of bright colours. While there is no doubt the art direction is superb, the film is as sterile as it looks.

Charlize Theron is Aeon Flux, a Monican rebel fighter ordered to assassinate Bregna's leader Trevor Goodchild (Martin Csokas), but when the time comes, they recognise each other, and Aeon Flux fails to kill the man who might just be able to tell her the truth about Bregna and its inhabitants.

Theron manages to distract you from boredom with her minimal figure-hugging wardrobe and athleticism; however her supporting cast can't resort to the same cheap trick.

Their performances are bland and one-dimensional. It's hard to blame the actors - Frances McDormand, Jonny Lee Miller and Sophie Okonedo are hardly lousy actors - one can only assume this detached tone was what the director wanted. Unfortunately, it prevents you from engaging with the film and sucks all the tension, twists and thrills out of the story.

The gadgets are there, the look is there, and male viewers will be pleased that Charlize is through her "ordinary" stage and is back to wearing hardly anything at all, but a sexy disappointment is still a disappointment.

CAST: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo
DIRECTOR: Karyn Kusama
RUNNING TIME: 93 mins
RATING: M, contains medium level violence
SCREENING: Village, Hoyts and Berkeley cinemas