Visually stunning, poorly scripted

Rating: 5/10 (18 March 2011)

This is a film that is somewhat difficult to rate due to being outstanding in some areas, but rather feeble in others. Unlike some, I did not have any problems following the plot but found it contrived, at best. The idea of breaking into the refugee camp in order to escape was not well enough motivated to be plausible. That the only rowing boat in England could be found there is utterly absurd, as was the ease with which they simply rowed away from this highly secured area at the end.
No doubt this break-in was to incorporate the hugely impressive battle scene that the director had in his mind. That this is one of the most compelling sequences I've seen in a film is no exaggeration. However, it also seems to be there to make a laboured political point. For a film set in the future, the immigrants appear to dress remarkably like Eastern Europeans from the 1940s and this seems to be a lazy Warsaw ghetto analogy, with immigrants as victims forced to fight back against "fascism". That this boneheaded analogy is directed against Britain, the country which stood firm against real fascism, is actually offensive given that there's no reason stated as to why such a scenario has come about.
Certain other tedious Hollywood tropes are worked in too. A Bush hating hippy (still crazy in 2027) who is a benign pot smoker (Michael Caine is very miscast); A Greenpeace-like boat of salvation; hints of government sponsored terrorism etc.
Another long sequence leading up to the birth of the child is almost as impressive, with a real sense of the lively chaos of the refugee camp. There are other stunning images too, such as the 'nativity' scene in the stables and a few visual in-jokes like the floating pig above Battersea power station.
The dialogue is excruciatingly bad and consists of copious use of the f word. The acting is generally bad too especially from the minor players. Still the action sequences are very well done. The plot has been constructed to create a maximum of set-pieces, which does lead to the video game quality which many reviewers have noted. The choice of music is very good.