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With science-fiction, I'm always hit or
miss but I knew the basis of this film thanks to its lasting effect,
helped in part by The Simpsons. I love the premise for the
movie, loss of resources and overpopulation lead to a future where
only the rich have a semblance of the world we know now, while
everyone else must fight for survival eating governmentally issued
soy based rations. The most popular is the Tuesday protein
rich soy-plankton Soylent Green. But there is more to this special
meal than meets the eye. We see a beautiful portrayal of a
possible future through the eyes of Fleischer's stunning imagry and
settings. Heston more than holds his own in a hero role
playing a futuristic police officer who strives to serve and protect
while looking out for his own best interests. Eventually he
looks to uncover the truth through any means necessary. The
score is very fitting for the story working well with the action and
drama, especially during the demise of Sol toward the end.
While I felt the direction was great, and the story idea
compelling, I think overall it was a miss. It took too long
for things to develop and then when they finally did, there was no
payoff, the film just ended without questions answered. Great
for a think piece and conversation at movie's end about the future
we're headed toward, but I wish this film had filled us in a little
in the direction those characters took in making things right again.
Further, it never was explained how things got the way they were, or
why the women were acting as happy concubines. Too many times
I was left questioning things in their world that served some basis
for the story, and those questions never came to a head in the film
(from what I could make of it!). Couple that with the slow
pace early leading seemingly nowhere if you weren't familiar with
the premise and you take a possible great film and turn it into
something merely average. 4/10 |
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