I’ll admit it, I like Vin Diesel. There’s just something about him. I recently watched the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD of his movie Babylon A.D., and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Set in a sort of apocalyptic future, Diesel plays Toorop, a veteran-turned-mercenary who is hired by a gangster named Gorksy (Gerard Depardieu) to escort Aurora (Mélanie Thierry), a girl from a convent in Russia to the United States. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon star Michelle Yeoh plays Sister Rebeka, the nun who chaperones the journey that takes them on a long trek across literally the top of the world.

It doesn’t take long for Toorop to realize that Aurora is not a typical girl. She is deeply sympathetic to others to the point of becoming wildly frantic if anyone is being hurt, and knows how to do things (like start up an old submarine) that she should have no knowledge of from her sheltered convent life. He also learns that Sister Rebekah can do more than just chaperone, the film takes advantage of Michelle Yeoh’s dance and acrobatic training to have her participate in a rather unusual but fun to watch fight in a Russian wrestling arena.

This movie moves at a quick pace and you have to pay attention to get what’s going on. Diesel is both tough and touching when protecting Aurora and Rebekah, but when the action moves to New York where there are people waiting for Aurora, it gets really strange. But if you liked Diesel in Pitch Black, I bet you’d like Babylon A.D.

Special Features:
· 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

Buy Babylon A.D. (Two-Disc Special Edition) on Amazon.com.