Review of Soylent Green (1973) by Edgar C — 18 Sep 2009

Soylent Green is a good early 70's sci-fi view of a dystopian future. It's a worthwhile watch if you are a sci-fi fan or a scholar of sociology. The warnings to mankind presented in the film are a bit heavy-handed, while the detective story is low on thrills.

I liked the idea of a detective who lives among the poor majority having to investigate crimes in the homes of rich bigwigs. I wouldn't have minded a longer film if we could have gotten to know the good guys and bad guys a bit better.

If this is ever re-made, it might even work without the twist ending, but having the nefarious deeds of the big corporation revealed much earlier in the film. That way we could explore their motivations.

I enjoyed the performances by Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, although the script seemed a bit flat at times. The most memorable scenes for me were the food riot with the "people-scooping" trucks for crowd control and the voluntary suicide chamber.