Britain faces the end of the world

Rating: 9/10 (14 October 2006)

The thing that most impressed me about this futuristic drama was the cultural accuracy in the depiction of London and England. Set 20 years in the future, you can clearly see the present day cultural influences in the characters facing the destruction of the human race. Unlike most sci-fi, which concentrates on the technological, the concept of cultural progression is central to the characterisation - how might present day hippies, new-age travellers, city hedonists, left-wing activists, terrorists, governments; - develop under the threat of destruction? The accuracy in the depictions of the different strands that make up British society, gives the feeling that the film always has an angle on you. You can see who these people were before this tragedy took hold and distorted them. This is a future that you could belong to.
The background of Armageddon, reveals the superficiality of these cultural pretences, and leaves you with the raw humanity of the characters. Showing, as sci-fi can so ably do, the temporality of our present day cultural identities.
The film has plenty to say politically too. The future government maintains power and tries to hold society together by creating a common enemy, immigrants and terrorists. The references to nationalistic propaganda are very well done and hit all the right prejudices. It serves as a necessary reminder of how close we are right now to George Orwell's prediction of constant war with an unseen, unquantifiable enemy.
What makes this a great film in my opinion is that it does all this and it also manages to entertain in an edge of your seat fashion from start to finish. The photography and special effects are superb, especially the use of cgi - which is pretty much undetectable and used not as a flashy spectacle but as a highly effective tool, similar to "Saving Private Ryan" or the fire-truck chase scene in "Terminator 3". The story constantly takes you by surprise and ably conveys an atmosphere of chaos and confusion, as we are shown a self terminating society. Life is cheap when humanity is doomed, and a sense of meaninglessness pervades the film. The last third is very action heavy and creates incredible tension as the protagonists stumble through a series of encounters and situations that are highly unpredictable and chaotic.
Feels very fresh and a great mix of genres, sci-fi at its best.