Avenger: Complete Collection (Collector's Edition)

The broadcast series Avenger (2003) is set in the distant future, when the remnants of humanity huddle in domed cities on Mars and inter-city gladiatorial fights determine the distribution of the planet's scant resources. Champion fighter Layla Ashley finds Nei, a robot-child, and embarks on a strange pilgrimage, accompanied by roguish repairman Speedy. As the trio wanders the red planet, the audience learns through flashbacks and Morris-the-explainer speeches that: (1) Layla is seeking revenge for something in her childhood, (2) humans have somehow lost the ability to reproduce, (3) Nei is the long-awaited "Child of Destiny," (4) Earth was somehow destroyed, and (5) the moon is approaching Mars, with dire consequences.Avenger suffers from both too much and too little story. Layla, Nei and Speedy waste so much time wandering that the climax of the tale goes by hastily and fails to make an impact. The filmmakers don't explain what's going on satisfactorily, and the story collapses under the burden of its mythic pretensions. The distaff equivalent of a taciturn warrior-hero, Layla rarely speaks, even when asked a direct question; Nei spends more time looking cute than saying or doing anything. Neither of them is very interesting, which leaves a void at the center of the series. Although Avenger offers some striking visuals of the moon brooding over Martian ruins, it's overly long and boring. (Rated 13 and older: nudity, violence, violence against women) --Charles Solomon