No children. No future. No hope.
In 2027, as humankind faces the likelihood of its own extinction, a disillusioned government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea where her child's birth may help scientists to save the future of mankind.
Genre(s): Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Runtime: 109 minutes
Rating: 8.1/10 (136,385 votes)
Release Date: 3 September 2006
Country: Japan, UK, USA
Languages: English, German, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Arabic
Company: Universal Pictures
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity.
Director(s): Alfonso Cuarón
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Producer(s):
Marc Abraham - producer
Armyan Bernstein - executive producer
Thomas A. Bliss - executive producer
Pablo Casacuberta - producer: 'Baby Diego' footage
Kristel Laiblin - associate producer
Eric Newman - producer
Hilary Shor - producer
Iain Smith - producer
Tony Smith - producer
Writer(s):
Alfonso Cuarón - (screenplay) &
Timothy J. Sexton - (screenplay) and
David Arata - (screenplay) and
Mark Fergus - (screenplay) &
Hawk Ostby - (screenplay)
P.D. James - (novel "The Children of Men")
Cast:
Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi - Baby Diego (as Juan Yacuzzi)
Mishal Husain - Newsreader
Rob Curling - Newsreader
Jon Chevalier - Café Customer
Rita Davies - Café Customer
Kim Fenton - Café Customer
Chris Gilbert - Café Customer
Phoebe Hawthorne - Café Customer
Rebecca Howard - Café Customer
Atalanta White - Café Customer (as Atlanta White)
Music: John Tavener
Marc Abraham - producer
Armyan Bernstein - executive producer
Thomas A. Bliss - executive producer
Pablo Casacuberta - producer: 'Baby Diego' footage
Kristel Laiblin - associate producer
Eric Newman - producer
Hilary Shor - producer
Iain Smith - producer
Tony Smith - producer
Writer(s):
Alfonso Cuarón - (screenplay) &
Timothy J. Sexton - (screenplay) and
David Arata - (screenplay) and
Mark Fergus - (screenplay) &
Hawk Ostby - (screenplay)
P.D. James - (novel "The Children of Men")
Cast:
Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi - Baby Diego (as Juan Yacuzzi)
Mishal Husain - Newsreader
Rob Curling - Newsreader
Jon Chevalier - Café Customer
Rita Davies - Café Customer
Kim Fenton - Café Customer
Chris Gilbert - Café Customer
Phoebe Hawthorne - Café Customer
Rebecca Howard - Café Customer
Atalanta White - Café Customer (as Atlanta White)
Music: John Tavener
Posted on: November 5, 2008
April 10th, 2009
I've actually created a profile simply for this comment.
This is currently rated as 8.1 out of 10. Having just watched this filmI can see that this is blatantly a result of some kind of vote fixing.
This film isn't even worth commenting on, other than to warn anyonethinking of wasting their time on it, not to bother.
It's just a stupid, incoherent bloody mess. There are so many holes inthe storyline that it ends up making absolutely no sense. It really isan embarrassment, anyone involved in this film should be ashamed ofthemselves.
Come on IMDb, sort this out……if you allow this kind of thing to goon, people are going to lose all respect for the site.
April 12th, 2009
There is some cinematography worth mentioning in this movie, but apartfrom that, it is quite a trial to sit through.
The premise of the movie does conjure up some interesting questions butdirector/writer Alfonso Quaron makes it a point in this movie to avoidthem all. How will the people in this society cope with being unable tofulfill their primary biological function? How is the scientificcommunity trying to battle the sudden infertility loss of people acrossthe globe? Or even a nice sappy drawn out conspiracy theory explainingthe onset of it all, is left entirely to the viewer to insert into thisstory.
In stead, the viewer is served a ridiculous chase story with charactersdevoid of any qualities one can sympathize with and groups of peoplewhich' motivations for doing the things they do, is totally leftunclear.
Add to this a very weak script that was rather patronizing in itsattempts to inform the viewer about what was going on and asuperabundance of situations that simply didn't make any sense at alland which were highly annoying as they demolished any chance of thismovie becoming an enjoyable venue.
Like so many mediocre films these days (Slumdog millionaire and GranTorino to name but a few), Children of men scores big time on thiswebsite and in the eyes of the people formerly known as professionalmovie critics.
It is simply a farce to think that this film reaches anywhere near thelevel one would expect from a film with a 8+ rating, so shame on allwho have helped to destroy the credibility of the highly rated movieand the critics who should be able to do a critical analysis withoutbeing flamed for it. After all, this is their job. One they sorelyforgot to do when this movie came to pass.
**/5
April 12th, 2009
Nice looking, but overrated.
I write this review specifically to counterbalance the ridiculousamount of overly positive "hallelujah" comments on IMDb.
CoM is simply not worth the high rating. It's got really greatdystopian ingredients to start with (the movie actually starts outfine), but you can only have to much illogical elements in any plot.The storyline is NOT good, see other reviews for explanation.
It really is OK to watch, but as so many have commented: it feels likethis movie was over-hyped by the movie company behind it, abusingpublic forums like IMDb. Or the world has gone mad.
Recommended only if the theme suits you and you can stand stupidity.
April 13th, 2009
Children of Men is a film so hellbent on making the audience emotionaland exhilarated that it looks like it doesn't even need to try. Theoutlook is visually gripping as well as chilling which sets the tonefrom start to end, and at times feels like you are their. The acting isbrilliant and fresh but in small instances can be slightly clumsy. Owenmaintains excellence and efficiency into believing in his character andhis morales.
Direction wise, it's boldly terrific. The shots are steady and expandon the fact that Cuaron is a well perceived director at the top of hisgame. The action scenes are brutal and riveting all at once and all areexecuted in a chilling and brilliant sense that they will be hard toforget.
April 18th, 2009
I watched it on TV last week encouraged by the the very positive reviewit was given by my TV guide.
It was hopeless dreary nonsense from the beginning and I only watchedit to the end partly to see if it could get any worse – it did – andbecause I thought that it must some redeeming feature to have beendescribed as "superb" by the reviewer – it didn't. The script isabominable, packed with clichés and unnatural monologues. The plot ispathetic and deteriorates. The acting isn't good and one actor isstaggeringly wooden. The music is awful and the attempt at "futuremusic" is like the logic my step-father once used in buying me a tie asa present when I was a teenager: "I thought this tie was awful, so Ithought you'd like it".
The cars are particularly annoying. In a feeble attempt to copyGattaca's stylish and subtle use of old Citroens as cars of the future,it uses some of the odder looking modern cars with bits of stuffcrudely stuck on them. Clive Owen manages to push start one of them,pushing it uphill single-handedly.
It is like a drawn out episode of Dr Who with all the silliness butnone of the self-awareness. The ending has to be sen to be believed -it could have been written by a ten-year-old. I've made better films onmy mobile phone by pressing the record button by accident. How it canhave been nominated for any Oscars, I cannot imagine.
April 23rd, 2009
Just like 'Franklyn,' 'I am Legend' and 'Waterworld' we are presentedwith a dystopian future, where all hell has broken loose with the lackof fertility amongst the world population. Only UK has survived in anynormal sense – although the film begins with a CNN-like coverage ofPrincess Diana's death, sorry, Diego's(the youngest man on theplanet)How has this been broadcast? – and yet it is filthy, run down,fascist, with violence and bombing an everyday experience. What wouldmake a real picture would an in-depth investigation of how a societylike this can still supply transport(trains), energy, computers etcwithout normal trading links – something I am sure Gordon Brown wouldlike to know about! But no, this turns into a shoot em up chase moviewith various nods to Arab/Israeli, Iraq conflicts and immigration. So,yes, an hour to set up this dystopian vision, in order to get CliveOwen heroically battling soldiers and terrorists to save the firstchild born in eighteen years without taking up a gun! Lots of realisticwar zone footage, with even a miraculous pause in action as themiraculous child passes through the carnage!!! Sorry how this film canbe praised, I don't know. If you have a futuristic society – make itwork for us. Don't just show a few coal-fired power stations in thebackground on the south coast – all the coal is in the north of the UK-and put all the problems down to a mysterious flu epidemic in 2008.Take a chance, not fall for the predictable Hollywood, video gameviolence and sentimentality!
April 24th, 2009
Almost everything in this film was brilliantly executed. From theacting to the sets, to the story. I have read the book and it is nowhere near the movie. Alphonso Cuaron needs to consider bringing inmore novels to the big screen. Because he knows exactly how to do it. Iwant to be a film maker when I'm older (I'm 17 now) and this guy is anamazing directer (other than David Fincher and Danny Boyle) and I cansay he is an influence on me. The only problem I had was that some ofthe characters felt a little underdeveloped,but other than that, thismovie is flawless. A must-see for….well everyone. I've heard that itis boring, but it is one of the most exciting experiences around inmodern film.