DVD: "Babylon AD" not a bad ride

A future filled with violence, war, and gladiators...and Vin Diesel's right in the middle of it. What could go wrong? Well, I guess that while Bablyon AD had a great formula for success (see Blade Runner and Cyborg) there's always the chance that a movie will biff a solid plot (see Ultraviolet and Aeon Flux).

But allow me to lay out the cards and you can judge for yourself if new-to DVD Babylon is worth a rental.

Babylon's main character, Toorop, is a little like Xander Cage's great-grandson from XXX. He's a bad ass with a gun who gets ample opportunity to kick butt and take names. Unlike XXX, though, Babylon retains a solemn tone throughout, fitting considering the setting - a Cold War-esque landscape of black markets where its every man for himself. It rang of late-bloomer hit PC game STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl where you can't find a decent meal and vodka is worth more than gold, but technolgy shows up amid firearms that could lay waste to Robocop.

While sporting a bleak view of the future, Babylon doesn't feel implausible, and I quickly found myself pulled in and genuinely interested in the characters. There is some excellent camera work to support the feel of the film, with little to break your immersion - a wise move by director Mathieu Kassovitz. Nothing spoils dreary more than punny one-liners or sight gags.

Okay, so why didn't more people like it? Well, it did coalesce into something a little less than the sum of its parts. I don't know what kind of ending I was expecting, but I felt a little let down.

I still maintain a good taste in my mouth for the film, but I can legitimately see where others gave it a tepid review (thought I think an IMDb score 5.3 is a little unfair).

Let me know what you thought, since few two opinions seem to be the same on this flick.