Certainly the best British film in years, and one of the best ever!

Rating: 9/10 (30 September 2006)

Children of Men is a truly fantastic film, which has ingredients for everyone - action, romance, gore, tension, wit and political meaning. All given enough space to satisfy, but also enough breadth that they can be ignored if you're not into it. As a piece of cinema it is a well shot, reasonably well directed movie, with a few scenes that are outstanding enough to merit awards in themselves. The acting wasn't anything to shout about, but neither was it anything to complain about either. The story, coupled together with fantastic political symbolism and many many influences from other films and news footage paints a scary, depressing and stark warning about the future we are being forced towards. Don't believe the holocaust could happen again? Watch this film! I was really disappointed to read other reviews on IMDb, which said that it didn't explain everything (god forbid a film leaves something for us to ponder on our own!) and even more disappointed to see the review that said that the key actors were killed off early...this film is so not about actors. Some complained the film was depressing - but it is so nice to see a film that doesn't have the Hollywood happy ending. My only explanation for these reviews is a misunderstanding, perpetuated by the person sitting behind me in the cinema who said to their friend: "What exactly is a fascist anyway?" . I hope a lot of young people go and see this film and feel motivated to make a change...I'd hate for any part of this wonderful and amazing fiction to become a reality!