"Children of Men"  The Brainchild of Humanity

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2007)

There has been a lot of emphasis in movies lately that depict the topic of the ending of both humanity and civilization. However this is the first one to breach on the idea of is that really such a bad thing? At first look, yes it is terrible as all humans no matter what they feel at times have an inherent survival instinct. But on the outside looking in, it's being said now that people are too destructive in their consumerism to be able to blend in peacefully with the rest of Mother Nature.
"Children of Men" examines the pure chaos that would result if every person in the world knew that the end of life as they know it was coming to a screeching halt in less than a century. Instead of life being put up on a pedestal it has the reverse effect and becomes even more worthless than it is considered today, which says a lot. Terrorism runs rampant and the government has gotten out of control, deliberately abusing all of its authority. The ugly side of human behavior is flashed at the viewer just about every chance there is and the worst part about this fact is it's completely realistic. While this film shows what will happen to societies in the world if nothing is done about the growing intolerance we share towards one another, it's actually being done right now in more parts of the world than we'd like to think.
A good amount of symbolism is relayed throughout the duration such as dogs and cats get treated as children and water represents life. Also many potshots are taken at American practices, some are hidden while others are direct blows. The most obvious hits were at Homeland Security, foreign refugees, and the illegal alien policieswhich mostly criticized the Bush administration. While it wasn't officially declared, it appeared as if a state of emergency had been activated in London and emphasizes why we should never consider that as an option here.
Every aspect of this movie tried to produce a sense of realism and the result was very effective. The cinematography was gritty and contained one amazing lengthy take towards the end that would stop the harshest critic dead in their tracks. The script was great and highly unpredictable. The scenes contained so much information that this'll be one of those films where you'll catch something new with each viewing. Many clues were lurking in the background. It's very easy to miss a small detail so make sure you pay close attention as the pacing can get extremely fast without warning. What really stood out above anything else was the tremendous success of humor. There was such a mix between subtle, dark, and even downright twisted comedy that helped make all the horrible scenarios bearable to the audience.
Finally the acting was superb as everyone really put in the work. The two that stood out the most had to unsurprisingly be Clive Owen and Michael Caine though. Clive must be the best actor with the most limited range and I say that with great admiration. He never plays anything different but we all love him anyway and rightly so. Starting out as a detached alcoholic that had an ambitious past, he begins to regain his sense of responsibility and the belief he can make a differencewhich he does. Michael is cast here as a hippie, yes you read that correctly, and was absolutely delightful. An honorable mention is Chiwetel Ejiofor who easily brought to life a cold-hearted villain with a purpose. While everyone in the government is basically portrayed as bad, the terrorists are split into those that possess good intentions and the ones that are downright radical lunatics, which certainly shed light on an important issue.
This film is not for everyone, but on the other handeveryone should see it. It's meant to require all watchers to do some soul-searching and realize that positive change is needed. But even if everyone stopped his or her hatred dead in its tracks and reached a pinnacle of self-realization, there'd always be at least one idiot out there who'd ruin it for everyone else. While preservation of our species is a priority, should it beand does it even matter at this point? As the movie itself shows, human attempts at correcting the wrongs of the world are always short-lived and hence it very well may be too late.