Beautiful and intense, but not without flaws.

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2007)

As Oscar season rolls around, one trend that I find seems to occur among films is this: entertainment gives way for art. Movies become less focused on giving the audience a good time, and more focused on getting awards. "Children Of Men" is lucky enough to have some entertaining moments, and yes, it's worthy of a few awards. But it's not perfect.
The acting certainly doesn't take center stage here, which is fine in some ways, as it keeps the viewer focused on the events surrounding the characters rather than the characters themselves. Some of the actors stand out, of course, and this both adds and detracts from the film. Clive Owen must be noted, as he is the main character and gets the greatest amount of screen time. Unfortunately, I feel he was miscast. I don't doubt that Owen is a good actor, but his character here seems very underplayed. The situations that Theo is in are suspenseful, amazing, frightening, and intense, and sadly, Owen seems to nearly always have the same expression on his face and in his voice. He could have used a greater range of emotion.
Another character that stands out - for the better, this time - is Jasper Palmer, as played by Michael Caine. It's a pleasure to watch Michael Caine as a playful, jolly new-age hippie, and you can tell that he had fun with the character. He's one of the few really entertaining things about the movie, and I think it was cast very well. The character of Syd, played by Peter Mullan, also stands out, and like Caine, Mullan manages to actually entertain the audience. It's a very small part, granted, but you'll remember it, and I consider those sorts of memorable characters to be far more worth the price of admission. All in all, the acting was what you'd expect from an Oscars-focused film, and the only thing that really hurts it there is Owen's low emotion levels.
Speaking of Oscars, two places where this film truly excels are the cinematography and sound editing. The movie has a very gritty feel, which shows especially well in the battle scenes towards the end. Really, that large battle scene is probably one of the most amazing parts of the movie. There are some extremely long hand-held camera shots that are executed extremely well and do a great job of keeping the audience on edge. The action is very intense, but still easy to follow and understand. It really helps to draw the audience into the movie, and this is achieved even more by some amazing foley work. The sounds of weapons firing, explosions, people yelling, bullets hitting concrete - they all sound amazing. Truly, the cinematography and sound are so good in this movie that they're reason enough to go see the movie. Renting it when it comes out on video really won't do it justice, as this level of immersion can only be achieved in a theatre.
Ultimately, the movie leaves a bit to be desired. You'll come away feeling like you should have been shown more, and you'll know that it was intended to make your mind linger on it afterward. You'll also know that you're glad you saw it in theatres, but that it's not going to be an absolutely necessary addition to your DVD collection.