Don’t let the gray cinematography, 1984-ish themes, or the fact that none of the characters have a future fool you --- this in an uplifting movie! I may be the only person who walked out of the theatre with that sentiment, but I’m sticking to it. But first, some background info. So one day, humans stop having babies and everyone goes a bit crazy. Then some activists (lead by Julianne Moore) find a pregnant lady and … well everyone goes even more nuts. Clive Owen is protecting the mommy to be, and in the process there is a scene where the chaos that surrounds them stops for a second to appreciate this woman (pictured above). I found it to be one of the most hopeful moments of any film in 2007. Children of Men is one of those rare action-packed, heart pounding movies that is about something more than a jewel heist or a bomb in the subway. It’s kind of about what it means to be human, and how our legacy (or lack thereof) can affect that. Watch this excellent piece of sci-fi work, and then consider movies like War of the Worlds and Hitchiker's Guide and what a diservice they have done to the genre.
Critic's Review.
2 comments:
One of my screenwriting teachers convinced me that the new War of the Worlds was actually a really, really good movie. I don't want to rewatch it, though, for fear of adopting his opinion.
I really enjoyed Children of Men, and will probably write a bloggy review of it one of these days. It definitely operates on a different plane than the Tom Cruise War of the Worlds flick - more social commentary, less action - but I thoroughly enjoyed both, for what they were. Even the original WotW has some incredible scenes in it, including a couple that always hit me like a ton of bricks when I watch it: the priest who walks toward one of the saucers, reciting the 23rd psalm - and gets zapped, and the seen in Los Angeles where the fear-crazed mob attacks the scientists who are supposedly humanity's only hope of salvation! Both of those are so dripping with irony that they affect me all over again each time I see them.
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