What do Children of Men, Total Recall, Blade Runner, Minority Report, Escape From New York, The Terminator, and star Vin Diesel's own Chronicles of Riddick all have in common? They're all better movies that Babylon A.D. shamelessly borrows from.

In this futuristic tale, Vin Diesel plays Toorop, a tough, burned out loner whose given the daunting task of escorting a woman named Aurora from her closed off convent in the Russian countryside, to the bright lights of New York City. The journey is long, and several attempts on Aurora's life along the way, lead Toorop to believe that maybe there's more to this woman than meets the eye.

Strangely, I kind of liked the first half of this picture. It was silly but entertaining, and to director Mathieu Kassovitz's credit (he's the man behind Gothika), he didn't shoot and cut this thing like it was a feature length music video. The effects are nothing revolutionary, but they're somewhat creative and the art direction is really impressive.

Then, the second half of the picture comes into play, and it's all over from there. Not much interesting occurs and the final act of the film, with it's heavy handed , religious undertones and over the top explosions, do nothing to elevate the familiar proceedings. Then, in the very final moments of the picture, the film makers make the fatal mistake of trying to turn brutish Toorop into some sort of sympathetic soul. The end result is labored and stupid.

Vin Diesel has made an attempt at a career path that is not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger's, but Diesel will have to settle for a Jean-Claude Van Damme level legacy, because he hasn't Schwarzenegger's natural charm, nor does he seem to have the ability to team up with the proper director. Schwarzenegger had guys like James Cameron in his corner while Diesel turns to less than stellar film makers like Rob Cohen (XXX). Diesel struggles mightily here, and there were moments when the crowd I saw the movie with were flat out laughing at him. His line delivery leaves a bit to be desired. It's a shame too, because Diesel can be effective (see the underrated Boiler Room or Saving Private Ryan). The man is in shape and he can kick ass with the best of them, but he hasn't the charisma or the bigger than life persona to make this film work. But then, it's unfair to put the blame entirely on him. There really wasn't much for him to work with in the first place. I doubt Schwarzenegger could have made Babylon A.D. work either.