Children of Men

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⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

Normally when I watch a movie, it's been on my list for a while or comes highly recommended. Yet somehow I'd never even heard of this one. Then I randomly saw a 3 minute clip on social media and had to watch it the same day. I know it sounds kinda lame, but the cinematography in that one clip was so good that I was instantly hooked.

I didn't notice until the credits, but the director is Alfonso Cuaron who has made some of my favorite movies (Roma, Gravity) and then the cinematography was done by Emmanuel Lubezki who has done a bunch of movies known best for just that (Birdman, Revenant). I truly have no idea how this movie slipped below my radar. Plus this movie is under my favorite genre, the post-apocalypse(ish) and uses my favorite archetypes of the hesitant guide?! This movie really was made for exactly me, made in what I believe to be the best era of movies (early 2000s).

So anyways, I had a phenomenal time watching this one. It's about a guy having to help out the hope for humanity, taking her through a wasteland of violence and evil people. It works on every level: it's a harrowing dystopia, it's a thrilling chase, it has some nice character moments, and then the set pieces and camera work are just so, so elite.

Basically a perfect movie for me. There are definitely some very weak performances, a couple weird quirks like bad CGI and distractions from bad extras, and also I must say my enjoyment was a little diminished having Jess cowering under her blanket for about half of this movie. But what the hell, I'm willing to overlook it all and give this baby a perfect score. I've talked myself into it.

I just don't understand why I world without children would be bad. Sounds like heaven.

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