I watched Babylon A.D. this weekend, and for an average movie goer it is a decent film. I hadn't heard of the book it was based on before I saw the movie, but judging by the quality of the movie and what I have read online since there is alot more going on in the story than the movie shows. It did take a lot of work not to fall into the giant plot holes, but it was still a decent Sci-Fi action movie.
But, as a Shadowrun player I really enjoyed it. Vin Diesel's character is essentially a shadowrunner, and the entire movie has a very 2070 feel sans magic. It has genetic manipulation, cyberware, black markets, opposing coporate-esque organizations, and plenty of dystopian fun. I recommend seeing it with your Shadowrun group.

Thanks for the heads up. I have been wondering about this film.

I read a statement by the director (Mathieu Kassovitz, Gothika, The Crimson Rivers) that the movie did not turn out the way he wanted due to extensive executive meddling - starting with a forced complete script rewrite and building from there...

Just as a side note, Vin Diesel is big into RPGs. I heard a rumor that his D&D character name is tattooed on his body somewhere. If he's in a sci-fi movie you know the love of the genre is as big of a motivator for him as the paycheck.

I keep hearing this Vin Diesel rumour. I decided to invest into some googling. Here's what I found, straight from the horse's mouth:

Vin Diesel on Loving D&D

Not he uses the past tense though. But that may very well have to do with being a huge star and not being able to find a group, And having other things to do. Like chicks.

I hadn't seen that interview yet. There's another one with an English dude interviewing Vin Diesel, but it isn't nearly as good an interview. But there's no doubt he is/was a big D&D fan- the back of the D&D anniversary book had a quote from Vin Diesel.

I recall him writing a pretty decent prologue to a D&D aniversary book a few years back actually, Biiiig fan of the game.

I'm sure if he wanted to find one he could. Tori Spelling liked Vampire: The Masquerade (hence why Spelling Studios made that awful Kindred show in the 90s).


One does not necessarily exclude the other.

I remember reading an article (with pictures) about a Serenity RPG game at some convention where Nathan Fillion ("Mal" in the show), who was a celebrity guest at the con, suddenly sat down at the table, pulled out his own bag of dice and started playing - a River Tam-style character!

Yeah - I read an interview with in in - what was it? - some mainstream glossy like GQ or Vanity Fair - this was definitely in 2002 - and the actual interview took place as the reporter followed Diesel and other members of his D&D group around to gaming shops as they bought game books. In that interview he was already pretty big, and said he still played actively.

And yes, Babylon AD is a decent SF action movie and a GREAT movie for SR inspiration.

I was so excited about this movie. Cyberware, Mystic powers that can stop missles, a chaotic future with a Hardened Mercenary as the Hero... sounded very shadowrun. Add in Michelle Yeoh from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and you have a sweet shadowrunesque action flick.

Or not.

With tremendous respect to Vin Diesel's performance, Babylon AD was pretty bad. The story is not very well told... the plot poorly revealed and the character motivations inadequately explained. The action was ok (Vin Diesel can kick some butt), however it was poorly directed action. The camera was often up so close you couldnt tell what was going on, and they follow the all too common pattern of bobbing camera's around to disorient the viewer.. as though that it going to make it feel more chaotic and real.

The gunfights had so much potential, but failed due to the same problems... often the camera was so close to Vin that you had no idea who he was shooting at, or who was shooting at him. They did a really nice slow motion shot of an exploding rocket, but otherwise did not employ the technique to enhance any of the gun fighting... a big mistake.

And the end is anticlamatic! The last action scene is a car chase, and an uncompelling one at that.

I think director Mathieu Kassovitz (gothicka, Assassins) needs to go back to Directing 101.


As far as Shadowrun elements go, Cyberware is only briefly hinted at, and the Magic is unexplained and unforshadowed, so it does fit and doesnt leave any kind of impression.

Dont go to the theatres. Dont rent it. If it comes on TV only watch it if there arent any decent Family Guy reruns on...

Gonna have to toss back a respectful rebuttal here.

If you like sci-fi action, see it.

If you like SR - see it on the big screen.

Yeah, since DK already spoilered it, I will concede was my one serious disappointment was the anti-climactic ending. Like they ran out of money or something. Maybe the studio meddling referred to earlier.

And no, it's not Leaving Las Vegas or Tess d'Urbervilles.

And the story is full of holes. Don't care.

I thought the action scenes were extremely coherent and excellently constructed.

And I have NEVER seen scenes that captured - for me personally - the essence of the SR Barrens/corp lifestyle dichotomy like this film. Just for pure ambience, if you are into SR, this film is a must see.

Just my own personal opinion offered in juxtaposition to DK's own, equally valid critique.

The problem is that the studio changed too much from the book, and even then the film ends half way through the story. The second half is some really freaky drug-induced shamanistic transhumanist end-of-the-world stuff.

The movie also greatly simplifies the politics and the motivations of the various group and reduces the number of rival groups.

So how is it different from any other sci-fi novel-to-movie adaptation? Movies always cut and compress the source material.

The ending may have been intentional but it sounds like it was unsatisfying to the viewer. Bummer. I still want to check it out though.

There is a difference between adaptation and destruction.

Imagine, for example, if half way through the movie version of The Two Towers Frodo decided to screw the whole Mount Doom thing, used the Ring to take control of the human and elf armies, then killed Sauron in an anti-climatic sword-fight, married Arwen, and lived happily ever after as the benevolant God-King of Middle Earth.

Yeah, that's pretty much what they did in this case.

While the visuals were cool, as was the atmosphere, they pretty much missed the point of the entire book.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the few examples of fantasy literature being faithfully adapted into a movie. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Starship Troopers, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, Minority Report, I Robot... none of the film adaptations of these books held exactly to the original source material and some of them flat out ignored it (for example Dizzy was a dude in Heinlein's 'Troopers, not a love interest). That didn't make them bad movies (though some definitely were for other reasons). The only mainstream movie I've seen in recent memory that actually held true to the source material was the first Harry Potter film and Marvel's recent crop of good super-hero films (now that I think about it, the first Blade movie would have been terrible if it had stayed true to the comic unless you like the idea of Wesley Snipes in an afro and dayglo jumpsuit). But if you expect mainstream cinema to uphold the integrity of source material you're always going to be disappointed. Especially if there's a lot of kick-splosion.

More like Frodo decides to control the human armies, then doesnt kill Sauron but instead has a wagon chase followed by retiring into the mountains with Sauron's toddler grandchildren.

Just saw the movie. I though it was very good. If you haven't seen it already, it's worth the rental.

I thought it was an ok movie with some really good ideas that never got developed they way they should.

I suspected that there might be some "executive changes" going on with the script when I realized that it felt like the first half and second half of the movie were written by two different people.

Very true.

According to IMDb about 70 minutes were cut from the movie by the studio against the director's wishes! The continental European version is about 10 minutes longer than the US/UK version while not even containing that car chase scene (funny - a making of of that scene is included on the DVD but not the chase itself).