Slightly Overrated but One of the Better Sci-Fi Films I've Seen

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2007)

Dark, gloomy, sad and virtually hopeless. That's the image 'Children of Men' presents as the future in 2027. The world has become a battleground after women became infertile and the only place that managed to survive as a colony was London. The story follows government official Theo (Clive Owen) who is contacted by his estranged wife Julian (Julianne Moore), a terrorist organization leader who fights for freedom, to help a young woman (Claire-Hope Ashitey) gain safe passage out of London to the Human Project (an organization that can help her). That's about all I will tell you about the plot without giving away any of the several spoilers. I believe the best way to describe Cuaron's 'Children of Men' is a film with endless potential that aims high but misses the mark significantly. 'Children of Men' isn't a bad film, it's actually a very good film, it just could have been so much better.
Without question, the two best aspects about the film are the acting and the way it was filmed. Cuaron does an excellent job creating this filthy and depressing futuristic London, even if he does borrow a little bit from other films like Blade Runner. This is different territory for Cuaron having previously directed the powerful Mexican sexual exploration piece 'Y Tu Mama Tambien' and after that taking on the best of the Harry Potter movies, and Cuaron handles it nicely. The cast is led by yet another masterful and seemingly flawless performance by Clive Owen. Owen doesn't provide Oscar worthy work, but he does his best to keep the film rolling along during some of slow parts. Julianne Moore, Michael Caine and the unjustly underrated Chitwel Ejofor provide solid performances, and newcomer Claire-Hope Ashitey is not half bad but certainly not terrific. There is also cameo parts played by The Constant Gardener's Danny Huston as Theo's wealthy friend and Peter Mullan in a showy but small role as the wacky fascist police officer. You definitely don't remember Mullan's riveting performance in 'My Name is Joe' because nobody f_cking saw that movie! The problems with 'Children of Men' stem with the writing and editing. The editing seems very choppy and there are scenes in the film that could have been cut out to save more time. The screenplay is solid in it's dialogue, but lacks necessary explanations in order to understand the film. There are so many things I wish they (the filmmakers) would have elaborated on or explained so I could enjoy the film more. It's never fully understood how the battlefield society came to be this way, and the assumption that a mere 18 years of women being infertile would cause the entire world to collapse doesn't seem very plausible in my mind.
Overall, besides borrowing a little from other futuristic movies and not being entirely coherent, 'Children of Men' is an enjoyable movie going experience where the good far then outweighs the bad. Out of all the sh_tty Sci-Fi movies that have been made, 'Children of Men' is probably in the ranks of the better ones like 'Brazil' and '28 Days Later...'. Grade: B+