Movie Debate #20: Children of Men

[Reed Rothchild | 9,543]

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,543]

Part 1 of 4 of Reed's favorites

[DefaultGen | 5,407]

I wouldn't say it's in my top 10, but it's a 10/10 movie.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Solid 8.  If I watched it another time or two, my rating might go up, but it almost feels like a British prequel to The Road, and it is tough to subject yourself to that kind of grim repeatedly.

Peak Clive Owen (and strong performances from Julianne Moore and Michael Caine), and a great cast of other on-the-rise British actors.

 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by arch_8ngel

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I remember being blown away after seeing it in the theater. Despite the grim visuals and dark story, there is just enough hope to carry you through to the end. Also, the cinematography is unbelievable, especially that extended shot in the war torn city. As someone else mentioned, it could easily be considered a companion piece to The Road.

Unfortunately, I haven't watched it since its initial release, so I'll go with a 9/10 pending rewatch. 

 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

1 minute ago, DoctorEncore said:

 As someone else mentioned, it could easily be considered a companion piece to The Road.

And full disclosure - I only ever read the book.  Once I finished the book, I couldn't ever make myself watch the movie.

There is grim or hopeless...and then there is The Road.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

1 minute ago, DoctorEncore said:

Also, the cinematography is unbelievable, especially that extended shot in the war torn city

That's what I remembered about the movie. The extended shots were amazing. The camera work in that film was top tier. 

I remember being blown away by the scene where the mob storms the car in the forest. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

14 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

And full disclosure - I only ever read the book.  Once I finished the book, I couldn't ever make myself watch the movie.

There is grim or hopeless...and then there is The Road.

The movie is fantastic. One of the best father-son stories I've ever seen. That being said, I haven't read the book.

13 minutes ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

That's what I remembered about the movie. The extended shots were amazing. The camera work in that film was top tier. 

I remember being blown away by the scene where the mob storms the car in the forest. 

Man, I really need to watch it again. It didn't win any Academy Awards, but the competition for cinematography was brutal that year.

Edited June 4, 2020 by DoctorEncore

[Reed Rothchild | 9,543]

@Tabonga with the stealth vote of 2.  Come on man, offer us a critique at least!  I know you're a big sci-fi guy, so perhaps you read the book?

[Sumez | 2,963]

This was the first movie I watched on Blu-ray, and I haven't seen it since, so I might not be qualified to vote, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

As far as I recall it, it was an interesting take on what's essentially a stereotypical, old school sci-fi plot, but handled in a surprisingly mature and quite well crafted manner. I also seem to remember appreciating that despite the overarching implications of the plot, the story it told itself was a fairly small and straightforward one, that reminded me of classic 80s thrillers.

It doesn't really stand out too much in my memory, but I'm pretty sure it was a good movie.

Am I far off? I'm unsure if this is the kind of movie that gains or loses values on a rewatch.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Sumez

[Tabonga | 2,320]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@Tabonga with the stealth vote of 2.  Come on man, offer us a critique at least!  I know you're a big sci-fi guy, so perhaps you read the book?

I had hoped to round up a copy and rewatch it to explain in a more coherent (and in depth)  way -  it has been almost 15 years since we saw it in the theater - so like the feral kid my memory (if not my life) fades.

It is one of those movies that I put in the category of style over substance.  (Some others I throw in that category are 28 Days, 28 Days Later and A Quiet Place) - they have redeeming qualities but there is a lack of believableness in the reality presented.  In the gritty post apocalypse world (and I exclude zombies and their ilk since that is a whole separate genre (IMHO)  - although they can fall prey to the same flaw(s) - for example the plot of Land of the Dead centered on the heroes stealing a million dollars (along with the truck) and going to the only other city known to exist (which no one had heard from in quite awhile - yeah sure.)  In Children of Men we are presented with a scenario where Britain and (I think) Angola (of all places - really?) are the only known places where a social order still exists.   As understood even in WWII the Briitish Isles can't survive without lots of imports of just about everything (they still have some coal I imagine - but the British never got as creative in making ersatz products from it as the Germans did in WWII) and extracting those resources from places with no existing social order is not going to happen.  And not only to support  the people in the British isles but a large influx of (dare I say it) illegal immigrants. And we have a secret society able to function (in the Azores - which has even less resources than Britain)  with all the scientific resources (not to mention the resources to just survive and  also support that complex  infrastructue)  well enough to solve the problem. Yeah.   

There is likely a lot more (I really wanted my money and two hours back since I had fallen for the hype) but like I said it has been almost 15 years.

I realize that these types of films generally fall under a science fiction label - but unlike say Star Wars (you kinda need to have techonology that doesn't exist yet for the movie to work), they need a much higher degree of believeability in order to click with me.  There are lots of post apocalypse movies which really work well within that parameter - such as The Day After, The Day (2011)  (a real sleeper if you haven't seen it), Testament, Threads, Fukkatsu No Hi*  and the Road Warrior (which despite a couple of minor scenes that defy physics is pretty realistic)**.

*Aka Day of Resurrection (and AKA Virus) - may not have aged well since its 1980 release - one of the stars is Sonny Chiba in a non action role.  If someone watches this they really need to track down the full 156 minute version - unless it has been re-released the only easy way to see that version easily is as part of the Sonny Chiba  action pack.

**I did not like Fury Road - almost all of the gritty believability vanished with that effort (which also lacked the campy charm of Mad MaxBeyond Thunderdome).  I might have liked it better if it had been a true standalone rather than a remake.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Tabonga

[Reed Rothchild | 9,543]

I'm laughing at something right now, which will make sense later.  In a good way.

Thank you tabonga

[Tabonga | 2,320]

33 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'm laughing at something right now, which will make sense later.  In a good way.

Thank you tabonga

You are indeed welcome.

 

[Gloves | 11,783]

*ahem*

Never seen it.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,543]

42 minutes ago, Gloves said:

*ahem*

Never seen it.

When I reach out to you in the future to select 4 movies, I'm going to limit users to 1 anime

[Gloves | 11,783]

4 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

When I reach out to you in the future to select 4 movies, I'm going to limit users to 1 anime

I only need 1 choice and it's Redline.

[Sumez | 2,963]

2 hours ago, Tabonga said:

**I did not like Fury Road - almost all of the gritty believability vanished with that effort (which also lacked the campy charm of Mad MaxBeyond Thunderdome).  I might have liked it better if it had been a true standalone rather than a remake.

Thunderdome's by far best part is the car chase at the end, though. That whole scene is so fantastic you'd figure it could have outclassed the second movie if all of it had been like that. And then 30 years later, Fury Road shows up and is exactly that, and proves that the sentiment is true.

If you want gritty and believable, that's what the first Mad Max movie is for, and that one is a snoozefest.  

Are we doing any Mad Max movies in the foreseeable future? 

[Nintegageo | 582]

That scene at the end when the combat just stops a short time as they walk out with the baby.. man that is such a great scene.

Edit: oh, and the version they sing Ruby Tuesday is great as well.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Nintegageo

[Tabonga | 2,320]

3 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Thunderdome's by far best part is the car chase at the end, though. That whole scene is so fantastic you'd figure it could have outclassed the second movie if all of it had been like that. And then 30 years later, Fury Road shows up and is exactly that, and proves that the sentiment is true.

If you want gritty and believable, that's what the first Mad Max movie is for, and that one is a snoozefest.  

Are we doing any Mad Max movies in the foreseeable future? 

IMHO the first was not nearly as well scripted as the second - and the first spent too much time on the relationship with Max and his wife.  That film also had a much smaller budget (and over here suffered from that miserable dubbed soundtrack).r 

I liked the chase/battle in Road Warrior more than the one in Thunderdome.  I liked Thunderdome a lot but went in knowing it was a much campier approach than the other two,  

Fury Road wasn't really aimed at being campy although IMHO it did come off as an unintentional parody of the Road Warrior.

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,543]

18 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Thunderdome's by far best part is the car chase at the end, though. That whole scene is so fantastic you'd figure it could have outclassed the second movie if all of it had been like that. And then 30 years later, Fury Road shows up and is exactly that, and proves that the sentiment is true.

If you want gritty and believable, that's what the first Mad Max movie is for, and that one is a snoozefest.  

Are we doing any Mad Max movies in the foreseeable future? 

Road Warrior is a top 10 movie for me, so I'll be inclined to want to do it at some point.

Thunderdome is a fascinating movie to talk about for several reasons.  So I'll be inclined to do that too at some point.

Mad Max is unlikely, if for no other reason than I think less people have seen it.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,543]

23 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I only need 1 choice and it's Redline.

 

[Gloves | 11,783]

Just now, Reed Rothchild said:

 

You're a monster.

[Tabonga | 2,320]

4 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

When I reach out to you in the future to select 4 movies, I'm going to limit users to 1 anime

The Point by Harry Nilsson.  That is all you need to know......

 

[JamesRobot | 5,803]

I kind of agree with @Tabonga's take.  I was disappointed but maybe I just didn't get it.  Also haven't watched it since the initial release.  I'll give it another go but right now I give it a "meh."

Also as far as I'm aware, Fury Road is not a remake.

[Tabonga | 2,320]

2 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

 

Also as far as I'm aware, Fury Road is not a remake.

.It is very strange - the reappearance of the V-8 interceptor is problematic since it pretty much mandates that Fury Road doesn't fit in the timeline/universe of the first three films (since it is destroyed in both the Road Warrior and Fury Road.)

It is kind of a remake of the Road Warrior since they both involve a chase/battle with a semi and a warlord.  (Tenuous I will admit.) 

But it makes no sense whatsoever either way  - at one point I think Miller said he did not intend to do another Mad Max but that things had just worked out that way.