Not sure if I should start a review thread of just use this one. I guess a mod can split this if need be. Anyways,
Children of Men - Review.
I don't know. I liked it okay, it's just all over the map. It starts out great, Theo (Clive Owen) tries to order coffee while a packed shop watches a news report about the death of "baby" Diego, the youngest person on earth. Theo seems to be the only one not concerned about it, but he does use everyone else's pain to secure some time off.
All of this is happening against a backdrop similar to V for Vendetta. One where the UK is the only country still intact, albeit barely, non-Englishmen are persecuted, immigrants are deported, the government uses fear of terrorism to keep the citizens in line. However, unlike V, the government isn't really the bad guy. No one is. It's just a bunch of scared people doing what they can to survive. It's interesting alright, but in addition to no enemy there really isn't any hero either. The pregnant woman isn't anything special, she jokes about being a virgin and that would have made the quest to save her a little more interesting but ultimately a cop out. Theo is a reluctant guardian of said pregnant woman, and he is doing it only because a love of long ago asked him to help. The woman and Theo don't trust anyone, one group wanting to help is apparently helping only for political purposes, another group no one is sure exists. There is frequent talk of "the uprising" but we are never sure who is rising up and what they are rising against. When it does occur, the huge battle scene looked so much like HL2 that I was looking for Striders and Combine.
See it's not that it's bad. It just fails where it shouldn't. The story COULD go so many ways but it doesn't go anywhere. The acting is great, the story lacks. Its beautifully shot, and the music is a great compliment. I'm just conflicted. There is a stirring scene near the end showing the power this last child has over people and I know the message they were going for with that scene but its not enough to save it. In the end I'd describe it as dreary or depressing. I don't think that's what they were going for.
3 out of 5 OSNN stars.