Who? What? Where? WHY?

Rating: 2/10 (24 July 2010)

Having read 10 pages of reviews, the plot (what there is of it) has thoroughly been described. So, I'll skip straight to what's terrible about this film. When writing even a newspaper article, you're supposed to explain: who, what, when, where, how and why. In 2 hours of running time, this film barely explains any of these. Instead, the 2 hours are packed with mostly gratuitous violence. When any explanation is given, the soundtrack is so bad, the accent so thick, that even my British husband couldn't understand what was being said.
What isn't explained: Why women can't have children. Why no one cares who the father of the baby is. Why the "fish" need the baby to serve their purpose, or even what that purpose ultimately is. Why Julian is killed. Why immigrants are treated so badly, when there's zero natural population growth. Why young people stand around throwing rocks at trains and cars. What the Human Project is, and why it's the only hope for saving the baby, especially since it may not even exist. Why it's assumed that every other option is so much more dangerous, that it's preferable to put the mother and baby in the middle of a filthy, violent, unstable immigrant camp. Why they had to be arrested, go to the camp and risk their lives to get a rowboat. Why no one took the mother and baby into custody as they were walking through a crowd of soldiers. Why the unexplained birth of one single, female baby will "save the world" when taken in by the mysterious, mythical Human Project. But, again, plenty of time for random shooting, killing and gore.
Even smaller plot points were annoying. Why have Jasper telling his stupid fart joke repeatedly, as he's getting killed? Why is there a pile of cow carcasses burning in a field? And do they really expect us to believe that the "heros" can escape from the "fish" when they're making all kinds of noise, up to within a few feet of the guards, in a car that won't even start? Even the cover of Ruby Tuesday was horrible. Believe it or not, I could keep going. I'm not the smartest or most sophisticated film viewer, but I know when a movie is too smart for me and over my head. This one isn't. It's just tissue paper thin, lazy, insulting and sloppy. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because the cinematography is good.