Babylon A.D. Raw and Uncut Blu-ray

Release Date: January 6, 2008
Length: 101 minutes
Rating: Unrated
T2 Rating: 2 out of 4 stars

Babylon A.D. explores the look at the future with a new twist featuring action hero Vin Diesel. His character Toorop finds himself in a situation where he must find a way to transport a young woman from Eastern Europe to New York City. The girl, Aurora not only proves to be a challenge, but also a mystery since every eye is on her. Is she friend or foe to the future of the planet?

When it comes to action, this is similar to many Vin Diesel films. The standout segments include a high impact fight sequence with martial arts star Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha) and a big air snowmobile chase featuring the top extreme riders.

Overall the film lags a bit in parts and isn't your typical Vin Diesel movie (although his character Toorop seems to have something in common with all of his previous movies). Perhaps it's due to multiple chase scenes in which the object pursuing them is a missile that feels like a bit of a stretch.

If you enjoy sci-fi, this story is worth checking out - however if you're looking for another action movie, you're better off with Vin in xXx or The Fast and The Furious.

The Blu-ray title features a bonus-view Scene Evolution which provides an overlay on top of the film that shows the director setting up 17 different sequences while the movie plays. Each of these seems a bit intrusive over the film, but it is nice to see what went into it making the scene. You can also chose to watch the Scene Evolution without the overlay as a stand alone segment that runs 50 minutes.

The extras include:

Babylon Babies –How author Maurice G. Dantec’s novel went from page to screen.

Arctic Escape – An inside look at the snow mobile chase
Fit For The Screen – A featurette about the martial arts and stunts of the film.

Flight of the Hummers –  The exciting Humvee chase is dissected. 

Genesis of Aurora – A graphic novel prequel to Babylon A.D.

Still gallery

One other interesting feature of the Blu-ray is that it includes D-Box Motion Code that is used to make high end home theaters come alive. If you've ever heard the Jonas Brothers refer to watching The Matrix at Johnny Wrights and the chairs rumble, this is what they're talking about.

Plus, similar to many new titles, this ships with a Digital Copy that provides you with a portable copy that is compatible with iTunes.

(Please keep in mind this film was orignally rated PG-13 and the uncut features some additional language).

-T2