Children of Men
By stephanie - Friday, April 27th, 2007
From the likes of some reviews, Children of Men is the second coming of Blade Runner. Well, first off, I was never blown away by Blade Runner…and this is no Blade Runner.
This is a poorly written film dressed up to look like something special. If you’re into cinematography, brutal realistic warzones, and camera shots that include fake blood spattered on the lens, then you’ll find this to your liking. And while I did feel that the execution was mostly well-done, the premise and plot itself left a lot to be desired.
It’s Britain in the year 2027 and women have not been able to bear children for 18 years. The end result is a world of totalitarianism, violence, xenophobia, and anarchy. Our reluctant hero, Theo, has a job to do: Deliver the first pregnant woman in 18 years safely into the hands of some sort of secretive Human Something-or-Other Project, which is working on developing a cure to the infertility problem.
Now, if you can accept that basic premise, then you’ll be fine. Don’t think about it too much, because if you do, you’ll ruin it for yourself.
Among other things, you may wonder:
1. Why, with the population aging so much, is everyone running around being a violent asshole? If people are aging, don’t you think they’d be slowing down and a little calmer by now? Probably. And isn’t it possible, with such a world crisis going on, that people might be more inclined to stop fighting and killing each other and band together to come up with a solution?
2. Why on earth don’t they go public with the pregnancy? There’s a lame explanation near the beginning of the film that truly makes no sense and involves the British government being opposed to having the first pregnant woman being an illegal immigrant. Excuse me? The world has no babies, and they’ll kill her off because she’s illegal? C’mon. That’s just totally off the wall.
3. What is this mysterious project that purports to be saving the world, and why is it able to drive a large boat into British waters without being seen or stopped, even though massive, armed airjets are shooting through the sky? And who is behind it? How can they be trusted? It’s never made clear.
Here’s the thing: The more “realistic” you try to make a sci-fi film, the better your plot and writing should be. Children of Men fails on both counts. With its patently absurd premise, Children of Men mocks the seriousness with which it was filmed.
All in all, this is one piece of pretentious overblown crap that is only saved by the amazing camera work. If you are looking for a recent dystopian future flick, try Equilibrium instead.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I like Equilibrium, but you can’t possibly argue that its WRITING is better, can you?
I think you’re selling Children of Men short if your main objection is with its premise. For Sci-Fi, it’s hardly “patently absurd.” I mean c’mon!
Sure, the ending isn’t “realistic” but try viewing the whole thing in an allegorical light.