“Babylon A.D.” marks Vin Diesel’s anticipated return to action after unimpressive forays into comedy (“The Pacifier”) and drama (“Find Me Guilty”). The story is something like “The Transporter” meets “Children of Men,” with Mr. Diesel’s character escorting a young woman (Mélanie Thierry) from Kazakhstan to Manhattan in the war-torn not-too-distant future. Little does he know that she is host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified messiah.

Director Mathieu Kassovitz, who previously made “Gothika” and is also an accomplished actor, has called the film a disaster after having to cut about 15 minutes to secure a PG-13 rating.