power

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2007)

As in Arthur C. Clarke's sad classic "Childhood's End," it seems that mankind's reign is in the early stages of its last days. But unlike the Clarke book, there's a lot more immediate misery to deal with. Terrorism is running rampant, much of it between the fascist government and the supposedly non-violent guerilla organization called the Fishes...etc. It's amid this situation that we meet the film's extremely reluctant hero, Theo (Clive Owen, delivering a perfectly formed one-note performance), a former activist-turned-bureaucrat who drinks too much and never has enough money. Barely escaping one of those explosions, he's kidnapped by the Fishes and offered by their leader (Julianne Moore) a tidy sum of cash if he'll pull some government strings to get some transit papers for "a friend."
It all becomes a mission to get Kee to "a safe place" to have her baby. Her destination, she's told, is "The Human Project," about which not much is known, and the exact location of which is a mystery. Her destiny is put in the hands of Theo, who doesn't want anything to do with any of this, who would rather be swigging from the pint bottle in his jacket pocket.