Children of Men - Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity.

Ah yes, the first movie of a new year. So important it is, setting the tone and standard for this year's releases. I was unfortunate last year, having seen Kurt Wimmer's stinker of a sci-fi, Ultraviolet, at the start of 2006. Yet this year, with Children of Men, I'm afraid a near impossible standard has already been set.

In Children of Men, director Alfonso Cuarón takes us to his vision of a near future 2027 England. Plagued by war, disease, disaster and the inexplicable inability to make babies, the ever-aging population has grown hopeless. However, after a young immigrant girl is discovered pregnant, its up to Theo (Clive Owen) and a group of freedom fighters to insure mankind's last great hope survives.

Right off the bat, you'll discover Children of Men isn't like any other sci-fi you've seen. Hyper-realistic, the film's futuristic setting is never overbearing--rather, it is presented in combination with rustic and rundown locales giving it a sense of believability rarely seen in science fiction. As with Blade Runner, the future of Children of Men is a struggle between advancements in technology and the degradation of the human soul. It's a bleak, filthy and altogether depressing existence.

This gritty setting is at its strongest in CoM's awe-inspiring climax. In what appears to be a seamless 10 minute cut, you are taken through the streets of a war-torn ghetto during a fierce firefight of tanks, RPG's, blood, bullets, bodies, and more. Buildings exploding around the protagonists, blood splattering on the camera lens...it's a close up and personal look at the extreme violence of war shown in the most unglamorous light since Black Hawk Down. It's one of those scenes that will go down in history as true accomplishment in film making.

Imaginative, gripping, and politically and socially charged, Children of Men is a science fiction masterpiece for the new millennium. With superb performances by Clive Owen, et al and an ending sequence worth the price of admission alone, this gem has Oscar written all over it.

Rating: 5 / 5