Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Phillipa
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
Sam
Picked up the DVD series at the library, because I heard about it being a 90's cult series. Watched a few episodes, didn't like it, couldn't get myself to watch more of it. I feel this series sacrifices substance for style. Once you get beyond the pseudo-intellectual quotes, the strange futuristic setting and the obvious sexual tension, you are left with an incoherent mess. Perhaps it's just not my thing and I'm being too harsh, but be warned: this is not for everyone.Maybe back in the day Aeon Flux was groundbreaking for what it did. This was made during the pre-mainstream era of MTV, when they were still willing and able to do things outside of the box. I'm all for that, but that doesn't mean the results will automatically be good.
Rectangular_businessman
Too be honest, I never cared that much about MTV: The programming of that channel seems to keep getting worse year by year...However, I really liked some of the animated shows produced by that channel, such as "Liquid Television", "Beavis and Butthead", the excellent adaptation of Sam Kieth's comic "The Maxx", "Daria"...And this show.Stylih, surreal and unique "Æon Flux" is possibly one of the most original and daring cartoons ever made in America, being like nothing ever made before, not only in the visual aspect, but also in the stories and the characters: Instead of the typical battle of "Good vs Evil" that was so common in the cartoons of the time,"Æon Flux" had an ambiguous tone, where the "heroine" and the "villain" had strange and vague motivations(And even weirder ways to accomplish their objectives) What's even more, despite their antagonistic ideologies, both characters had a strange love/hate relationship, an element that worked as a sub-plot in most of the chapters, and worked incredibly well.This deliberately ambiguous tone of the story, joined to the grotesque, but at the same time beautiful imagery of each chapter showed how mature and artistic Western animation could be, despite the prejudices of some part of the public against this genre, considering that cartoons are only "kiddy stuff", despite the existence of incredible works such as this."Æon Flux" was ahead its time, and maybe for that reason, I didn't get the recognition it deserved...However, a few episodes (and shorts) were enough to appreciate the full quality of this animated masterpiece, being one of the most original and artistic TV -shows ever made, such as "Twin Peaks", "The Maxx" and "The Prisoner".Oh, yeah,there was also a terrible live-action movie made in the 2005, but that film lacked of every single one of the great elements of this excellent series. The less said about that lousy film, the better.
pjmartinau
Aeon Flux is worth watching - even repeatedly for one good reason: it is very original, unlike the multitude of films out there that are simply copies of tired genres. It DOES NOT explain everything, and a lot of it you are left to guess or imagine for yourself - but this is part of it's appeal. The cartoon series are far more intriguing and absorbing than the insipid movie that was made. Having said that, it still leaves room for many areas that could have been developed, and they certainly could make a lot more than the eleven episodes that have been made so far. It also looks at a lot of relevant issues, and philosophy that is interwoven into each storyline. There is also plenty of action.
dla_one
Peter Chung is definitely one of the most creative minds in animation today. This is his groundbreaking work he is best known for.Originally a recurring short for MTV's Liquid Television, Aeon Flux combined the flash of the sexy heroine and action movie violence with extremely surreal and bizarre scenarios. MTV later commissioned 10 half-hour episodes. Obviously the more high profile placement of a scheduled program lead to more network restrictions. Not quite the same surreal vision as the original shorts but definitely interesting in themselves.A lot of people saw it as some kind of anime rip off. It's nothing of the sort. While without a doubt drawing influence from Japanese animation the more apparent influences are European fantasy illustrators like moebius.I bought the TV episodes and shorts on a VHS several years ago. I'm not sure if it has made it to DVD. There's a live action movie based on the characters of the animation series coming out this winter. It's extremely doubtful they'll be able to pull off any of the weird stuff. It will probably be just another boringly ordinary Hollywood sci-fi/action movie. One of Peter Chung's ideas with his animation is to create something you can't do in live action.