Visually appealing dystopian fiction

Rating: Null/10 (18 February 2008)

I don't normally review a film right after seeing it, but the hodgepodge of reviews and "helpful" votes seemed to warrant my two cents. Children of Men has a few big-name actors, with the solid Clive Owen, Michael Caine playing a hippie (testament to his acting ability that he is convincing) and Julianne Moore (I guess this had American funding so they couldn't have an all-British cast).
The cinematography is good throughout, and British nature and urban environments make for a good backdrop (in my opinion). However a lot of the time I couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching staged set pieces, I wasn't sucked into the the film. The directing in general seemed a bit ham-fisted, like it was someone directing their first feature. The premise is interesting but I'm not sure if much was done with the concept (I guess we can attribute this to the writer of the novel the movie was based on). I'm not sure what the story is supposed to be about really, the plot seemed to be a way to highlight various aspects of this dystopian society. Again, the dramatic sequences lacked that "real" feeling, like seeing a film set filmed through a home movie camera for behind the scenes featurettes.
I think the film has a lot to offer and would be worth a repeat viewing (most films I cannot say the same for). It may be slightly overrated on IMDb, but then again Finding Nemo didn't grab me and that's still in the top 150.