Vin Diesel's Ambitious 2008 Sci-Fi Flop Could Have Been A Masterpiece

These days, Vin Diesel is best known for his high octane "Fast and Furious" franchise. But back in the early 2000s, Diesel was best known for science fiction, arriving on the scene with his turn-of-the-century masterpiece "Pitch Black," where he played the enigmatic warrior Riddick. He eventually turned that film into a franchise, with sequels, prequels, and a whole timeline to explore. But the Riddick films aren't Diesel's only sci-fi adventures, and his film "Babylon A.D." — despite its failure — had sky-high potential.

Released in 2008, sandwiched between "Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "Fast & Furious," "Babylon A.D." takes place in a dystopian future where mega corporations are in control and crime is a way of life. There, we meet Hugo Toorop (Diesel), a brooding mercenary who is hired by mobsters to escort a mysterious young girl named Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) to New York City. He's joined by Aurora's guardian, Sister Rebekah (Michelle Yeoh), but, along their journey, they discover that Aurora seems to have unusual, nearly supernatural abilities that make her a target of dark forces.

With a strong cast and some impressive visuals — not to mention top-notch action and adrenaline-pumping fight scenes — "Babylon A.D." could have been a sci-fi classic that takes a hard look at where society is headed. Unfortunately, it tries to do a little too much and ends up accomplishing very little. Any plans of turning it into a series were quickly abandoned after abysmal reviews. It's an absolute mess of a movie, and certainly not among Vin Diesel's best films. But don't take our word for it. We've got an authoritative opinion on the subject.

Based on a book titled "Babylon Babies" by writer Maurice G. Dantec, "Babylon A.D." was full of high-concept ideas that could have made it something special. But the film's director, Mathieu Kassovitz, admits that it wound up a mess of a film, with muddled messages lost amid a cacophony of action spectacle that he, as director, still felt powerless to control. "The script wasn't respected," Kassovitz told AMC in a 2008 interview. "Bad producers, bad partners, it was a terrible experience."

Kassovitz explained that he was originally drawn to the story because of its important social messaging. "The scope of the original book was quite amazing," he insisted. "The author ... saw that as wars evolve, it won't be just about territories anymore, but money-driven politics." Sadly, however, the entire production was plagued with problems, including studio meddling and interference from lawyers and executives who didn't seem interested in making a good film. 

"The movie is supposed to teach us that the education of our children will mean the future of our planet," Kassovitz said. While the action he'd planned was supposed to be in service of that message, he acknowledges that the production problems derailed it. "All the action scenes had a goal: They were supposed to be driven by either a metaphysical point of view or experience for the characters... instead, parts of the movie are like a bad episode of '24.'" In the end, it's one of the films Michelle Yeoh, a future star of the "Avatar" movies, would like you to forget about.