Review of Soylent Green (1973) by Ola G — 02 Oct 2009

In the year 2022, overpopulation and the greenhouse effect has changed the world as we know it. The population of New York City is 40 million and there is a constant heat wave. Water is rationed and fresh food is more or less non-existent, unless you are part of the upper class. Most of the population live on Soylent Blue, Soylent Yellow or the lastest product Soylent Green, which are tasteless wafers. Detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) is assigned to investigate the death of William Simonson, a board member of the Soylent Company. Simonsons death was made to look like a burglary went wrong, but Thorn is convinced early on that it was an assassination. Thorn's investigation leads him to uncover a conspiracy in the Soylant company and the Soylent Green food product itself, where Thorn uncovers the horrible truth about Soylent Green.

This was Charlton Hestons third futuristic and apocalyptic movie after "Planet Of The Apes" and "The Omega Man" and it is as good as the other ones. I think the script is intriguing and it offers an interesting/depressing view upon the future. Charlton Heston is solid as Thorn I think. "Soylent Green" is hardly flawless, some of the action sequences are a bit wobbly, several scenes has a so so backdrop and the acting is not always spot on. But, I do not feel that this overshadows the wholeness of the movie. "Soylent Green" is a great futuristic action drama. Two thumbs up.