Has some minor flaws and not the strongest storyline, but is so astoundingly created it's hard to care too much

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2007)

Impressive as all Hell, at least from the standpoint of direction. There are a couple of long takes that are just about the greatest sequences I've ever seen. Cuarón is a master of putting the audience in the middle of the action. I've never felt more like I was in a war zone before. The collapse of society has never been more vividly depicted. However (and I hate to say "however" when there's so much to be amazed at), I didn't absolutely love the movie. It creates a frightening world, but the story that goes along with it is not equal to the creation. It's decent, but nothing fantastic. And the characters weren't especially great, either. Only Clive Owen gives a notable performance, and he was even better in Inside Man. I also thought that exposition in the film was handled clumsily. How many left to right tracking shots do we need of photographs and newspaper headlines? Every time Cuarón wants to tell us something about a new character, or explicate something that has happened in the past, that's how he does it. Okay, despite some complaints, which I guess are major but I was too impressed to care too much, this is still one of the best of the year.