Darren Aronofsky Makes Sequel to Zardoz

Critics are already panning Darren Aronofsky's new science fiction tripfest The Fountain, calling it silly, painfully bad, incoherent, and – worst of all – comparing it to John Boorman's infamous 1970s flick Zardoz. Aronofsky is beloved by science fiction geeks for his film Pi, a somewhat uneven movie which featured amazing visuals of decaying technology and several memorable brain-stabbing sequences. Unfortunately, it sounds like The Fountain's 1,000-year love story and yoga-of-the-future quest may not have hit the sweet spot between mind-expanding and shroom barf. AP critic Christy Lemire calls it "laughably bad" but unique, and expands on the Zardoz connection:

Some have compared "The Fountain" to "Zardoz," thehallucinatory 1974 movie written and directed by John Boorman (rightafter he made "Deliverance"), in which Sean Connery (right after hissixth and final turn as James Bond) runs around a post-apocalytpicsociety in nothing but a ponytail and orange undies, chasing after anenormous, stone head floating through the sky.

I'm still going to see it, if only because a little Zardoz after Thanksgiving is practically mandatory. Plus, star Hugh Jackman told SciFi Wire that doing the lotus position for 12 hour shoots, mostly underwater, made this film the most physically strenuous he's ever done. More strenuous than X-Men? No way!

Bad reviews of The Fountain[Rotten Tomatoes]