a both visual and content rich masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2008)

this, to me , is a MUST HAVE in my collection( i can say i had been watching it 4 times already). why? well here it goes: lets start from beginning. ever since about 7-8 years ago i started watching more and more British features or co-productions and i find them more and more superior to Hollywood ones for various reasons but especially because the realistic subject matter generally found throwout.even the horror genres deals with real possibilities. it reminds me of the "british invasion" when it came to music, a few decades back. well now would be something similar when it comes to plot developments and not only.
so this is the reason i picked up this one, already with high expectations. usually that does not work because the higher the expectations the bigger the disappointment can generally get. based on reviews i was expecting something like a "post- apocalyptic" movie like "28 weeks later" for example. but just after about 2-3 minutes in i was GLUED in until the end , something rarely happening to me. if want to exercise your own perceptions of reality, with a bit of imagination as well, then this is 110% for you.
the movie is so RICH IN DETAILS, there are so many things going on with many visual subplots beside the main one which basically consists of focus on Clive Owen character. ALL the characters present in the movie give real substances , enhancing the normality vibe given by the MOST MODERN POST-REALISTIC camera directions ever to be captured on film in recent memory. at times you even feel like watching a historical documentary of events ALREADY past. yet the movie keeps moving forward with such speed that might require a second viewing ( there is only one scene in an abandoned park where i feel it slows down but even that one is essential to answer a few "why" and "how"'s). the dialogs are generally VERY witty especially between Clive Owen character and his "old man". the level of desperation is such on a high note that the whole story becomes over the optimistic(in an emotional manner without giving "suggestions") when the "discovery" is made. great play in direction with human emotions, BUT again lets aside, as it should do, the "fear" factor ( as i keep noticing those more and more in the Hollywood features).Clive Owen gives the his best ever performance in my opinion as a broken man in an already, long-ago, broken world and without hope.the movie does not offer answers and especially not suggesting ones; the evolution of both mind and matter will take care of that regardless of what everyone's understanding of "faith" leads them to be believe onto or not. salvation can take many forms both physical but most clearly at a spiritual level.
the one thing that stands out for me is the whole political take alas George Orwell style. in a way the whole movie looks as an "update " to "brazil-1985". it is very rich on takes on human conditions. the scenes where Clive Owen visits his cousin( the minister of art) is absolutely chilling and gives the whole movie a dimension of need for righteous hope that is not "made up" out of desperation, but of evolution. also the whole movie stands out as a PRESENT TIME SATIRE to give a clear IMAGINE where humanity is driven to by the present social-POLITIC climate of having political correctness as the "ideal" goal for an eventual world full of smiles and submissions, but completely empty of any instinctual individualistic hope.
also important to mention is the fact that this feature manages to engage all age groups and even past and, possible future, generations. also worth to mention the presence of other well know foreign actors that portrays the characters belonging to various ethnic back rounds, colors and cultures. something of a melting plot that goes very well in sustaining the present realistic trends of global "meltdown".
from an entertaining point of view, this movie delivers as well RAW action scenes. it seems that NO cgi effects were used at all but the realism in brutality is such jaw-breaking to me. those scenes , in-between create a truly REALISTIC apocalyptic background. issues regrading real terrorism perpetuated even in a more gruesome way by a government out of touch with reality in times when ideology is the only thing that keeps all sides going nowhere but to sudden-death.
all in all together i doubt that there would be someone completely disappointed with this production in itself, at least in style, development and well defined content regardless of ethics and morals on display.