Children of Men (2006)
WMB Rating:
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5) 
Loading ...
OK, I know what you're thinking. "What are you smoking over there! Children of Men isn't a war movie!"'
Well, you're right it isn't. It falls somewhere in the "dystopian future science fiction" category. Children of Men follows the story of Theo (Clive Owen) who is somewhat forced into the situation of delivering the first baby born in the UK in eighteen years, and her mother, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) to safety. Along the way we're witness to a lot of 'bad future' scenarios.
But the sole reason I'm putting a review of this up here, is the absolutely brutal and (I can only imagine) realistic combat scenes I think I've seen on film. Granted I've never witnessed such things personally, but this film really scares the crap out of you during the firefights and ambushes. Especially during the final scenes, as Theo and Kee escape through a bombed out city block with the government troops fighting the resistance with tanks and small arms. The bullets bouncing off the concrete, sending shards of it flying, the tank shelling out the building. It's just intense, and done in such a believable way that its just damn scary. I think I said that already, but damn. If you've ever imagined what it might really be like, I think it comes close. The sound and the "directness" of it all just is painful. The direction in these scenes really puts you right there. More so even than the current flagships of "realistic combat" movies like Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down.
Forget the usual "Hollywood-style" deaths and injuries, here when you're shot, bad things tend to happen. A prime example of this comes early on in the picture, as Julian (Julianne Moore) is shot point blank in the front seat of a car as they run from an ambush, and while that whole scene is scary and brutal, her death is even more abruptly brutal and messy. None of the usual drama. Just here one minute gone the next. No gasping for air and the typical "last words" business. Its just over.
No its not pretty, nor is it fun, but its really necessary to get the point across about the urgency of Theo and Kee's plight. It might seem like I'm "celebrating" this film's depiction of death, combat, and destruction, but I'm not, really. If what's depicted here is even close to reality, then I have to applaud direction Alfonso Cuarón for not taking the easy way out.
Apart from the hyper-realistic brutality of combat, the rest of the story is just plain good as well, as are all of the performances. Michael Caine does an exceptionally good job early on as the aging oddball "hippy" Jasper which Theo seeks out advice and help from.
You'll have to put on your "I'm watching a scifi film" hat for sure, but the total package is surprisingly good. Also consider than I'm a big fan of these type of movies, so maybe I'm a bit biased.
Children of Men is rated R, obviously, and its not particularly long either. But if you missed this the first time around, or have put it off because of the nature of the story, I'd give it a watch just to have the crap scared out of you.
Technorati Tags: war movie reviews, children of men, 2006, dystopian future, science fiction, clive owen, clare-hope ashity, michael caine, julianne moore, combat
 |
Children of Men (Widescreen Edition) List Price: Sale Price: $3.59 You save: $11.39 (76%)  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days  |
Description
No children. No future. No hope. In the year 2027, eighteen years since the last baby was born, disillusioned Theo (Clive Owen) becomes an unlikely champion of the human race when he is asked by his former lover (Julianne Moore) to escort a young pregnant woman out of the country as quickly as possible. In a thrilling race against time, Theo will risk everything to deliver the miracle the whole world has been waiting for. Co-starring Michael Caine, filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men is the powerful film Pete Hammond of Maxim calls "magnificent...a unique and totally original vision."
Presenting a bleak, harrowing, and yet ultimately hopeful vision of humankind's not-too-distant future, Children of Men is a riveting cautionary tale of potential things to come. Set in the crisis-ravaged future of 2027, and based on the atypical 1993 novel by British mystery writer P.D. James, the anxiety-inducing, action-packed story is set in a dystopian England where humanity has become infertile (the last baby was born in 2009), immigration is a crime, refugees (or "fugees") are caged like animals, and the world has been torn apart by nuclear fallout, rampant terrorism, and political rebellion. In this seemingly hopeless landscape of hardscrabble survival, a jaded bureaucrat named Theo (Clive Owen) is drawn into a desperate struggle to deliver Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), the world's only pregnant woman, to a secret group called the Human Project that hopes to discover a cure for global infertility. As they carefully navigate between the battling forces of military police and a pro-immigration insurgency, Theo, Kee, and their secretive allies endure a death-defying ordeal of urban warfare, and director Alfonso Cuaron (with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) capture the action with you-are-there intensity. There's just enough humor to balance the film's darker content (much of it coming from Michael Caine, as Theo's aging hippie cohort), and although Children of Men glosses over many of the specifics about its sociopolitical worst-case scenario (which includes Julianne Moore in a brief but pivotal role), it's still an immensely satisfying, pulse-pounding vision of a future that represents a frightening extrapolation of early 21st-century history. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Information
Binding: DVDAspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Original Release Date:
Actors:
- Clive Owen
- Julianne Moore
- Michael Caine
- Peter Mullan
- Pam Ferris
Reviews
Related posts:
