Aeon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection

Forget Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux (please!). Here is the real deal: Peter Chung's high-octane animated series that debuted on MTV in 1991, all 10 episodes of which are assembled in this three-disc collection, plus bonus goodies such as the rarely-seen pilot episode and the six original Aeon Flux shorts that first aired on the long-gone Liquid TV program. An undercover agent in a futuristic world, the leather-clad Aeon is a fast-thinking, brutally effective killing machine who never drops a bead of sweat or creases a wrinkle in her tight leather bodysuit. Her adventures are, if anything, peculiar (disrupting cloning experiments, liberating avian-type creatures, playing a maternal figure to a boy in a time warp), and she shares a strange relationship with Trevor Goodchild, who might be her lover or her enemy (or both). Also, not unlike Kenny from South Park, Aeon has a strange habit of dying at the end of each episode, only to return utterly refreshed in the next. Highly original and endlessly fascinating, Aeon Flux boasts complex animation that is brilliantly matched with disturbing stories combining intense sci-fi with emotional drama. Additional DVD extras include audio commentaries, two featurettes, and a fascinating collection of original production art with pencil tests and model sheets. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)