Digital Hack Job

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2007)

This is a very good film... not as good as the reviews would lead one to believe, but nevertheless, much better than a great deal of major studio releases and far better then most major studio science-fiction offerings. The attack in the woods, the escape from the farmhouse and the battle scene at the end have got to be three of the best film scenes of the year, by far. My major qualm however is with the CGI atrocity the filmmakers have decided to use in lieu of an actual human baby. I understand the difficulties (and possible illegalities) of using a baby during violent action scenes with squibs and pyrotechnics flying. I also understand the scene where the baby is born could not be shown as is with a live baby. But there are plenty of other ways around these problems without resorting to a grotesque abomination masquerading as a child. Whenever the infant was on screen, I found myself mesmerized in a sort of repulsed and nauseated trance. And when the old "foogie" lady at the end is reaching for it's foot... *ugh*, the baby's foot looks like a stillborn baby Hobbit foot, gray, and lumpily malformed...