outstanding

Rating: 9/10 (27 September 2006)

First off, watch this film - i don't usually enjoy helping to fill the coffers of Universal, but in this case we can let it slide because Children of Men is the kind of film that doesn't come along too often - a 'silver screen jobby' not a 'wait until it comes out on DVD' film.
it has all the elements of distopian sci fi at its best, and whilst not quite on the epic scale of blade runner, it pitches to us the idea of a future we can visualise - a future in Britain thats a present in much of the world. you can take this film on face value as a high paced action flick with a story line (remeber those Hollywood - come on, dig deep) or you can look at the myriad of little asides to the plot that help paint a vivid picture of the world in which its set. references to the war in Iraq, the abuse of prisoners in abu ghrabe prison camp and the refugee camps in the UK that could have been taken right out of Lebanon.
its a powerful film that shows us a Britain we can imagine, a future that is pieced together from images we see daily no the news and which almost seems to be the real message of the film.