The Gene Generation

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Year of release: 2007

Genre: sci-fi

Director: Pearry Teo

Action director: Jeff Imada

Producer: Keith Collea

Writers: Pearry Teo, Keith Collea

Cinematography: Anthony Nakonechnyj

Editor: Carmelo Casalenuovo

Music: Scott Glasgow, Ronan Harris

Stars: Bai Ling, Parry Shen, Alec Newman, Faye Dunaway, Ethan Cohn, Robert Hall, Michael Wiles, Daniel Zacapa

Rated R for violence, language, nudity, and sexuality

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Despite an obvious low budget, which results on a bit of a over-reliance on the sex appeal of Bai Ling to keep things interesting, Pearry Teo's The Gene Generation manages to transcend its' straight-to-video roots, producing a surprisingly entertaining hybrid of science fiction and action that's perfect for a night on the couch with your buddies and a case of cheap beer.

Loosely based on Teo's comic The DNA Hacker Chronicles, The Gene Generation definitely takes its' inspiration from the cyberpunk aesthetic of films such as The Matrix and Blade Runner. Taking place in the near future, the deteriorating environment has caused mankind to go into chaos. Humanity itself has become a commodity, with hackers able to get into desirable bodies and extract their DNA.

Bai Ling plays Michelle, an assassin who is charged with killing the hackers, so that she can start a new life with her brother, Jackie (Parry Shen). When Jackie stumbles on a device that can turn anyone's DNA into either a powerful weapon or a cure for disease, he and Michelle become the biggest targets in the city.

With The Gene Generation, young director Teo shows that he can produce a film that is fast-moving and visually interesting. Eschewing some of the tropes which can drag movies of this type down, there are no long-winded expositions or soap-box posturing. Bolstered by action scenes helmed by veteran stunt performer Jeff Imada, there's a nice frenetic pacing to the proceedings here that manage to come off as rapid-fire, yet still not subscribing to the school of appealing to those with ADHD.

The movie does get a bit too wrapped up in its' own style sometimes, particularly as it applies to Bai Ling, who goes through enough leather outfits to keep dozens of S&M dungeons happy. Even in the altered reality of a sci-fi world, the proceedings sometimes come off as pandering to white guys with a bad case of yellow fever in order to sell a few more DVDs. Don't get me wrong -- I certainly don't mind looking at Bai Ling, and the creepy factor presented here never gets to the level of Quentin Tarantino's foot fetishism.

But I wish that there would have been at least a bit more attention paid to the story and acting, as glorious as Bai Ling's sweaty cleavage in leather might be. It's relatively easy to make an exploitation movie; it's another matter entirely to make a good sci-fi picture, especially on a small budget. If Teo had emphasized the core of his movie, rather than the "production value" around it, we might have had something really special here.

RATING: 6