Review of Children of Men (2006) by Spangle — 02 Jul 2014

This one was a major disappointment for me. I will start off with the few positives before moving into the negatives. Firstly, the acting was good, especially from Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and then Chiwetel Ejiofor and Charlie Hunnam is smaller roles.

In addition, the cinematography here is great, especially during action sequences. The whole film has this really cool video game esque feel to what unfolds that is just missing the prompts for what you are supposed to do next.

In addition, the colors here are great, as the gray everywhere really sums up the despair. Now, for the negatives. There are not a ton, but they are big enough to really hamper this one. Firstly, the story sucks.

In premise, it sounds good, but in practice it is boring and uninteresting. In addition, there needs to be some kind of introduction to this world. Many things are occuring in this film and it never really explains why.

I know that Cuaron hates backstory, but it is needed in this type of film to allow the audience to understand this futuristic setting. Without it, the audience is left guessing as to why the events are happening.

Another major issue surrounds one of the deaths in this film, as it is hinted that it was a specific reason, but the reason is murky at best and really needed better explaining. It is a very important sequence, yet the reasoning behind is left largely unanswered.

The script is also pretty bad in most parts as the dialogue had me cringing quite frequently. It all felt very unnatural and poorly worded. Finally, Clara-Hope **** is quite annoying and since she had a large role, it really subtracted from the overall film.

Many find this film to be thought-provoking and cautionary. I cannot help but agree, as it left me wondering how it got so much praise and a warning to not trust the general consensus all the time.