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Movies / On DVD / Children of Men
Children of Men

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Children of Men (2006)

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Reviews Counted:199

Fresh:183

Rotten:16

Average Rating:8/10

Consensus: Children of Men works on every level: as a violent chase thriller, a fantastical cautionary tale, and a sophisticated human drama about societies struggling to live. This taut and thought-provoking tale may not have the showy special effects normally found in movies of this genre, but you won't care one bit after the story kicks in, about a dystopic future where women can no longer conceive and hope lies within one woman who holds the key to humanity's survival. It will have you riveted.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:22-09-2006

Synopsis: CHILDREN OF MEN is not a popcorn movie. With its almost relentlessly bleak perspective on the future, Alfonso Cuarón's film doesn't make for pleasant viewing. But it's an exhilarating experience... CHILDREN OF MEN is not a popcorn movie. With its almost relentlessly bleak perspective on the future, Alfonso Cuarón's film doesn't make for pleasant viewing. But it's an exhilarating experience because the picture is an amazing dystopian drama that lacks all the typical trappings of the genre. Set uncomfortably close to the present, it paints a frighteningly realistic picture of the future. In 2027, every woman on earth is infertile. With the loss of the ability to have children, the world has also lost hope. Clive Owen (CLOSER) plays Theo, an Englishman attempting to make a life in a hellish world. His estranged wife (Julianne Moore) convinces him to help transport a young woman to safety. When Theo learns that the woman is pregnant, their journey takes on a significance--and a danger--he never imagined. This is Cuarón's best film to date, a strong statement considering his wonderful HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN and Y TU MAMA TAMBIÉN. Filmed using a handheld camera, the action draws the audience close, making the horror that much more real. In addition to its remarkable car-chase scenes, the film features impressive acting. With his expressive face and voice, Owen gives a nuanced performance that ranks with the best of his career. As a reclusive hippie, Michael Caine shares a charming counterculture view of the crumbling world. Chiwetel Ejiofor (DIRTY PRETTY THINGS) brings gravitas to the role of a terrorist. Just when the film threatens to overwhelm with its sense of dread, small moments of comedy show through in Owen's wry sense of humor and Caine's perfect delivery. When the credits roll, CHILDREN OF MEN leaves the audience feeling shell-shocked, not only because of its brutal prophecy, but also because of its brilliance. [More]

Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chjwetel Ejiofor

Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Peter Mullan, Charlie Hunnam, Pam Ferris, Danny Huston, Jacek Koman

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Screenwriter: Timothy J. Sexton, Alfonso Cuaron
Producer: Hilary Shor, Marc Abraham, Tony Smith, Eric Newman, Iain Smith
Composer: John Tavener
Studio: Universal Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Children of Men

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161 - 180 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Alfonso Cuaron, a master craftsman, creates a unique and totally original vision of this not-too-distant future. It's harrowing.

Full Review Source: Maxim | comment Comment
12/22/06
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Maxim

Children of Men is a heartbreaking, bullet-strewn valentine to what keeps us human.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 7 Comments
12/22/06
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

The story, based on P.D. James' novel, grabs you at first, but its grip slackens as the unanswered questions and murky plot developments add up.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment 12 Comments
12/22/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

An exhilarating sci-fi action thriller with a powerful social and political message.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
12/22/06
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

Cuarón's Children of Men is a formidably distinguished piece of pop filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
12/22/06
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

This is one of the best movies of the whole year. And likely one of the best of next year, too.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
12/22/06
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Instantly up to speed and powered by that rarest of cinematic fuels -- intelligent action -- Children of Men is a nativity story for the ages, this or any other.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
12/22/06
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

My problem with the film was expecting too much, because it kept telling me to expect more.

Full Review Source: Hot Button | comment Comment
12/22/06
David Poland
David Poland
Hot Button

Director Alfonso Cuarón takes his career to a whole other level here. He expertly preys on our doomsday fears, punctuating scenes with the harsh sounds and images of war we've already heard and seen on the nightly news.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/22/06
Dezhda Gaubert
Dezhda Gaubert
E! Online

Outside of Black Christmas -- and aren't we all planning on staying outside of Black Christmas? -- this is probably the feel-not-so-great movie of the holiday season. But if you're in the proper, semi-dark mood, it's a gritty gem.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
12/22/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Is Children of Men for everyone? I don't know. I haven't asked everyone. I can only say it was for me, and that I found its vision of the future gripping--and hopeful, ultimately.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/22/06
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

The film gradually devolves into action-adventure, then the equivalent of a war movie. But the filmmaking is pungent throughout, and the first half hour is so jaw-dropping in its fleshed-out extrapolation that Cuaron earns the right to coast a bit.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/22/06
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

One of the year's most invigorating and adept pieces of filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 6 Comments
12/22/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Alfonso Cuarón's grim, stark vision of the future is one of the most amazing and original films of its kind.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
12/22/06
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

One of the most technically brilliant and thematically layered films of the year.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
12/21/06
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

A breathtaking and original embodiment of the purity of a child, and the absolute necessity of knowing that life goes on.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
12/21/06
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

Alfonso Cuaron rides it out to the bitter end, creating a harsh mirror of our future with violence and some of the most purely exhilarating moments of cinema to be found in all of 2006.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/21/06
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

Made with palpable energy, intensity and excitement, it compellingly creates a world gone mad that is uncomfortably close to the one we live in. It is a Blade Runner for the 21st century, a worthy successor to that epic of dystopian decay.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
12/21/06
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Children of Men, Alfonso Cuarón's dense, dark, and layered meditation on fertility, technology, immigration, war, love, and life itself may be the movie of the still-young millennium.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
12/21/06
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
Slate

For those capable of enduring its most gut-wrenching moments, Children of Men offers inventive energy, ferocious intelligence, and yet, affirmation of life against the most calamitous circumstances.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
12/21/06
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday
 
 
161 - 180 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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