Mutant Chronicles

I didn't expect much when I saw the title, the name mutant in the title is never a good sign, but I was pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere was really great, being a historian I really enjoyed the weird mix of Great War, cyberpunk and post-WWII United States. Reminded me of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, just not that shiny. The feeling of hopelessness and despair was clearly visible. The characters were typical, no big thumbs up for this one, but not shallow. People who watch movies for the little things like the tone of blood and the color of guts might be disappointed, but for an average movie-goer like me, who goes to the movies for entertainment, not slaughterhouse atmosphere, the special effects were nice. For everyone who still hasn't seen it, the atmosphere is the key in this movie.

I watched this film because Ron Perlman's in it and i'm always buoyed by seeing a man who looks like a gorilla act so well. I had no idea it's based on some kind of role-playing franchise, and frankly, i'm glad i didn't. To be honest i probably wouldn't have watched it if i did. After having just sat through it, i thought i should add a positive review because well, i liked it. I was a good film. The Mutant Chronicles did kind of remind me of Lord Of The Rings (bite your lips fanboys) because it got the plot out of the way pretty early on and the rest of the film was essentially spent trying to achieve the one valiant act that will save the day/world. Whereas LOTR is spread out over nine hours of character development (boy howdy are they noble, eh?) and beautiful scenery, The Mutant Chronicles chooses the less trodden path of gunfire, disposable characters and mutants. The film takes place in 2127 in a dystopian future where two of the four corporations who run the world accidentally let loose an ancient evil into the world. Cue some wacky bloodthirsty mutants overrunning the general population and generally being a nuisance. As the rich survivors escape to Mars, a small group of nihilistic ass-kickers and religious nuts travel to the centre of the Earth to stop the catastrophe, showcasing an amazingly short grieving process along the way. Just about every location is computer generated. Rather well i thought, though i know there are those who strongly disagree. The shortcomings of the CGI are helped along by a very dark look and feel with a fairly monochrome palette being preferred with the exceptions of some reds and blues (think Sin City). The Mutant Chronicles may well be a minor stylistic triumph, not letting itself get bogged down in plot, character development and all that important stuff. It seems as though the film makers settled on making it a pretty cool movie. And it is.

This is definitely one of the best, all-out sci-fi action movies i have ever seen, with all the characteristics of a classic B-Movie; static characters, simple yet effective plot, actually good one-liners, super-digital CGI (helps give the classic feel), and best of all; enough bloody, nasty, and violent action that makes this a great watch! Out of all the characters, Thomas Jane's performance is actually quite good, filling in the shoes of a good character that you can remember and come to like, surprisingly. The run time is good, doesn't drag anything out, but one BIG disappointment was the special "Director's Cut" released on DVD; it's not nearly as good as the theatrical version!! But even so, this is a definite must watch for all sci-fi/action/horror fans because in the end, this movie is a fun ride that needs no expectations except to know that the action and suspense cover for all the flaws 7.5/10 Stars***

It's hard not to notice the parallels between "The Mutant Chronicles" and "Aliens": a team of soldiers, plus a few outsiders with deeper knowledge of the subject, are sent on a suicide mission (not to outer space but) deep beneath the surface of the earth to destroy (not bloodthirsty alien monsters and their source but) bloodthirsty zombie mutants and their source. The film is not quite as good as "Aliens", but it's still a serviceable B-movie. Visually it succeeds in creating its own, richly detailed and impressively designed, world: that includes the mutants themselves, who have one of their arms extended to a huge claw that can cut human flesh to pieces. The action itself, however, is a bit too chaotically edited: sometimes things happen and you don't have enough time to see how they happened, or a battle takes place and you're not absolutely sure who is hitting whom. This seems to be a recent trend in action movies (the latest Bond film "Quantum Of Solace" really suffers from it), and I hope they reverse it soon. The cast is good, though the characters are definitely not as memorable as those of "Aliens". Ron Perlman's best moments come near the end, while Devon Aoki and Anna Walton are unconventionally attractive and fully combative female leads. (**1/2)

At the end of the Ice Age, The Machine came from the outer space with the purpose to change men into mutants. However, a hero defeated the device and a great seal was laid over The Machine. In 2707, the depleted world is ruled by four Corporations: Mishima, Bauhaus, Capitol and Imperial that are in constant war. During a battle between Capitol and Bauhaus, the great seal is broken and The Machine works again transforming soldiers and civilians in hordes of mutants. A small part of the population escapes to Mars, leaving millions of people behind. The man of faith and leader of an ancient brotherhood Brother Samuel (Ron Perlman) is a believer of God and the Chronicles, a bible about the mutants. With the city under siege of the mutants, he visits the Corporations' leader Constantine (John Malkovich) asking for an aircraft and twenty men for a suicide mission to destroy The Machine, planting a bomb and a detonator following the knowledge of the Chronicles. He recruits the tough Major 'Mitch' Hunter (Thomas Jane); the Bauhaus Lieutenant Maximillian von Steiner (Benno Fürmann); the keeper of the Chronicles Severian (Anna Walton) that is under a vow of silence; the gorgeous and lethal Corporal Valerie Duval (Devon Aoki); Corporal Juba Kim Wu (Tom Wu); Captain John McGuire (Steve Toussaint); and Corporal Jesus 'El Jesus' de Barrera (Luis Echegaray). Together they become the last hope of Earth against the evil mutants.

"The Mutant Chronicles" is a stylish adventure with a dark cinematography that recalls "Dark City" and "Metropolis" and interesting concepts of war in the trenches (like in World War I) and riveted flying machines (burning coal, like the ships in the beginning of the Twentieth Century). In the end, "The Mutant Chronicles" is neither a masterpiece nor a bad movie as indicated in many reviews; just an entertaining and stylish movie, with reasonable story and acting and great cinematography and especial effects. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Era da Escuridão – Mutant Chronicles" ("The Age of Darkness – Mutant Chronicles")