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In the year 2027, all humanity is infertile, Britain is at constant risk of terror attacks, and immigration into the country is illegal. With little hope for the future, mankind is rapidly approaching extinction. This is the brilliantly compelling setting of Children of Men. The film establishes a hugely effective atmosphere immediately, with a chillingly plausible vision of London twenty-one years hence. From here, the film could go in a multitude of directions, and the narrative the film takes (essentially becoming a chase movie) is very engrossing. I found the film to be made up of three distinct thirds, quality-wise. The first third, where everything is established, is extremely well done. The middle third I found somewhat disappointing, primarily because the story moved out of an urban setting to the countryside, where I didn't feel the atmosphere was sustained quite as well. A number of very unforeseen plot twists held my attention though. The last third was, without exaggeration, utterly, completely superb. This section of the film is worth the admission price alone. The action ramps up, the stakes are raised, and the intensity of the sequence is second to none. The film could be called episodic, but I was so engrossed by the storyline that it didn't matter. Several well-judged moments of humour provide brief levity, and the visuals are so stuffed with ingenuity - aside from the less interesting middle section - that sometimes I found myself distracted from the main action on screen (this is not a criticism). Refreshingly, the film is not just mindless action: it actually has a point to make. If the quality of the beginning and end was sustained throughout, the film would easily deserve five stars. As it is, Children of Men has to live with being merely excellent.
The summary
Children of Men is quite possibly the best film of 2006 so far, with excellent acting, direction and atmosphere, and one of the most intense (and brilliant) prolonged scenes of carnage since Saving Private Ryan. Extremely close to 5 stars.
