Children of Men Blu Ray Review
July 19, 2009
Alfonso Cuaron paints a bleak future of no babies in Children of Men. Based on a novel by P D James, the movie takes us into 2027 where no women have given birth in 18 years. The reason is not given and we are left to surmise the cause of this infertility. This phenomenon causes massive chaos around the world. In this setting, we are introduced to Britain. In England the unrests are brutally put down by an oppressive government. The oppression works better than the chaos experienced by rest of the world.
We are introduced to Theo, a journalist who lives in England. One day, he is recruited by his ex-wife to help her get some papers for Kee. Before long, he discovers that she is pregnant and is forced to help her escape security forces as well as some unsavory insurgents. Their ultimate destination is a boat operated by the Human Project, whose goal is to save the humanity through research. While these plot devices drive forward the escapes and chases, my attention was focused on the bleak and very realistic nature of world where no babies can be conceived. The whole world has spiraled out of control without the ability to procreate. There is sense of doom throughout the movie.
Clive Owen as Theo is the perfect casting. He exudes a reluctant hero aura where he does what he has to do because he can’t just walk away. Michael Cain as the hippie and Juliane Moore as his ex-wife perfectly compliment Theo. The movie works well as science fiction film. It works even better as social commentary on many subjects. Humans facing extinction, oppression vs. freedom, and terrorism are front and center subject of this movie. Inject some very human moments and the movie is almost perfect.
What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.
![Space Buddies (BD Live) [Blu-ray]](http://buybluraymovies.com/media/images/i/61OUDN-uahL._SL160_.jpg "Children of Men Blu Ray Review") |
Space Buddies (BD Live) [Blu-ray] List Price: Sale Price: $21.49 You save: $13.50 (39%) Average Rating: 
 |
loading...
Intense political thriller
Great political thriller, with a minor sci-fi presumption thrown in – people can’t reproduce anymore. Towards the end there is a superb street level combat scene.
loading...
Don’t bother….
Who knew the apocalyptic future could be so talky and BORING??? If this is the future-we’re all going to bore one another to death.
loading...
Good, not super great but well worth watching.
Many of the bleak scenarios presented in this movie, like demonization and persecution of “illegal” immigrants, are seen today. Granted, they haven’t reached the level displayed in the movie, but that’s just a formality.
I found myself drawing so many comparisons to modern day society as I watched the film. The enviromental decay depicted in it made me think of what we are currently doing to our planet; a protest march through an immigrant concentration camp made me think of the current Palestinian crisis; random klllings of people interned in the camp as they attempted to run across a street reminded me of similar killings in Sarajevo, Bosnia during the height of its ethnic war; the abundance of dogs everywhere in the film as companions to lonely people reminded me of New York City, where so many people have dogs in tiny little apartments to cope with their lonliness (in a city of 8 million), etc.
I’ve often felt artists are the great prophets of society. They create work based on what knaws at their souls, not based on loyalties to religious, poliitical, or ethnic ties. The futuristic scenario presented in CHILDREN OF MEN is a futuristic vision as seen through the apocalyptic lens of a masterful filmmaker.
It was not a happy romp like Shreik and there were parts I would have liked to have seen improved but it is still a very good movie, check it out.
loading...
Children of Men: A World Without Children’s Voices
The apocalyptic premise of this loose adaptation of the P.D. James novel The Children of Men holds that fertility has hit zero for nigh on two decades, and that as a result the world order is collapsing. Opening with the news that the youngest living person in the world has been murdered at the age of 18, it swiftly and skilfully establishes a dystopian vision of a near future Britain–a police state wherein society is just barely maintaining its fabric. Present day fears and tensions such as those surrounding terrorism and immigration are extrapolated to a terrifying endgame in a world without hope, and a quiet seaside town is transformed into a warzone. Stark and arresting in its imagery and with no holds barred representations of violence, some incredibly long and complicated continuous shot sequences add to a gritty documentary feel. Clive Owen’s perfectly judged hero of the piece is a broken man who falls into the role of protector to what might be the last hope for the future of the human race, and as violence rages all around him, it’s notable that he never once picks up a gun himself. From the central story through superb acting from a cast that includes some big names in fairly minor supporting roles, through to its powerful direction and cinematography, this film is a work of art that is quite literally stunning in every sense.
–Adam Chamberlain
Revelation Magazine
loading...
Not too Bad
I originally watched children of men of HBO awhile ago, and i just had to to buy it. The director did an excellent job in directing the movie and in my opinion the camera work does this movie well.
What i would wish for however is that the begging of the movie didn’t just drop you into the near future. It adds to the effect of the movie that’s just what i would like. He also did an awesome job in shoot em up (or something like that)
loading...
Another Shaky Camera
This is another in the latest style of movie making – idiotic hand-held camera. Many of the scenes are so shaky they made me dizzy. I’ll never understand why any director would think this is so cool. To me, it destroys the movie. Also, the story made no sense.
loading...
Bad Sound Editing
The story is a neat idea, but the bad sound editing made it difficult for me to understand much of the dialogue.
Very realistic look at how bleak the future could be in this apocalyptic movie. Well done, but not being able to understand the dialog turned a good story into blehh…
Watch it with the sound turned up. Could barely hear it.
loading...
One of my favorite movies of all time hits the spot on Blu-Ray
The Movie:
The Apocalypse. A subject of many debates and dreaded talks. When will the world end, and how? No one will ever know, even though the Mayans had a good date for it (2012.) Children of Men is an apocalyptic thriller, but it differs from many of the ones out already. In this film, the apocalypse is brought upon us not by famine, or a plague, or the supernatural, but in the cease of human birth. The premise is of despair, and the film evokes it perfectly. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, this films puts you in the middle of the collapse of unity in the world. Britain is the only place on Earth that is still under government control, and all of the illegal immigrants are considered refugees, which are being thrown into “fugee zones,” reminiscent of concentration camps during WWII. Theo (Clive Owen) gets involved in a mission by a group of renegade fighters lead by Julian (Juliane Moore,) Theo’s ex-wife, who want to help secure the first pregnant woman in 18 years, who also happens to be a refugee. With the help of his best and only friend, Jasper (Michael Caine,) Theo will do all he can to save the life of the girl, in the process finding redemption for the ghosts of his past. The events that follow are nail-biting tense, and one of the final scenes in the film, which is an 8 minute long shot done in ONE take, help secure the tension of the film. The vision that Cuaron puts on display is original and, in my opinion, amazing. You know it’s the future, since you will see many neon signs and LCD displays all throughout the city, yet it’s not too sci-fi, so you won’t see flying cars or talking robots. Having this sense of realism mixed with sci-fi elements grounds the film, making it a more believable 2027. The visual effects here are extremely well crafted, specifically (minor spoiler) the birth of the baby. Also, add the amazing performances by Clive Owen, Juliane Moore, and Michael Caine, and you have a film for the ages.
The Blu-Ray:
Video:
Man, as soon as I put this baby in my PS3, I knew I was in for a treat. The detail in the picture is outstanding! In the outdoor shots, you can see every branch in the trees on the outskirts of Jaspers house, and inside of his home, all of the objects are finely represented. I noticed some pretty deep blacks, and the colors are vivid and sharp. Even though this is a “cold” film, and the main pallete is “steely,” when it wants to shine, it does. 5 out of 5.
Audio:
This mix is just bombastic and awesome! The opening bombing scene had some amazingly deep bass, and the unique alarms and music in Jaspers home did as well. This film excels in dialogue, and it was always intelligible. Pans and directionality are perfect, and I never had an issue with volume control, which was an issue I had with “The Incredible Hulk,” which was also a Universal release. The film gave my bass a workout, so I say “Thank you, Universal.” Another 5 out of 5.
Overall, this film is one to be seen. After watching it at least 5 times, there were things that I missed from prior viewing. Watch and enjoy this stellar film, and reference quality Blu-Ray.
loading...
Children of Men – Blu-ray Info
Version: U.S.A / Universal / Region Free
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
VC-1 BD-50 / AACS / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:49:14
Movie size: 30,543,541,440 bytes
Disc size: 34,288,519,429 bytes
Total bit rate: 37.28 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 25.90 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3611 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3611 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio German 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Italian 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Express English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Express English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English (SDH), English, Chinese, Dutch, French, French (Text), German, German (Text), Greek, Italian, Italian (Text), Korean, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Castilian Text), Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (Latin American Text)
Number of chapters: 17
Special features are presented in Standard Definition.
#Deleted Scenes (2m:21s)
#Featurette: The Possibility of Hope (27m:14s)
#Children of Men – comments by Slavoj Zizek (5m:44s)
#Under Attack (7m:35s)
#Theo and Julian (4m:39s)
#Futuristic Design (8m:37s)
#Visual Effects: Creating the Baby (3m:06s)
#U-Control – PIP
loading...
A Horrifying Vision Of How The World Could End
Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men” is a horrifying vision of how the world could end if no more children were born. Extremely provocative, this film made me realize how important children are to our future. Without them, the world becomes psychologically insane before dying a physical death.
Mother Nature has imposed her own form of birth control on mankind. At first, a few women began miscarrying, then hundreds more until it became a world-wide epidemic. It is now the year 2027 and a child has not been born in eighteen years; despair and grief has led the world to the brink of total destruction. Every country, except Britain, seems to have collapsed. The British government has launched a campaign to rid the country of all illegal immigrants known as Fugees. One of these Fugees is a pregnant girl, Joy. Theo Faron (Clive Owen of “Derailed”) struggles to help her get safely to a boat owned by Operation Humanity. Unfortunately, a terrorist group, the Fishes, wants to use Joy’s baby as a pawn for its diabolical plans against the British government.
“Children of Men” is highly recommended for fans of apocalyptic, end-of-the-world horror. Extremely tense and war-like in its graphic depiction of street violence, this film is highly emotional. Not easily forgotten, it will leave you asking, “Could this really happen?” One touching scene that made me cry was when Joy’s baby was being carried out of a destroyed building. The tenants stood spellbound, gaping and murmuring, “A baby. A baby,” as they remembered a world that was long gone. A political statement as well as a disaster film, “Children of Men” should be added to your science fiction/horror/adventure collection.
loading...
The most violent yet impacting pro-life I’ve seen yet
Now, did I just proclaim this movie to be pro-life? Uh… yeah, despite its intense and prolonged sequences of futuristic war (which, in their own right, if they were the only things in the movie, would make it totally enjoyable), it’s got a very beautiful pro-life message with how one man will go so far as to even sacrifice himself to make sure the last baby to be born in almost 2 decades to be brought to safety. Not too many “dads” would say they’d do that these days. So “kudos” to Clive Owen’s character for that selfless act.
The other thing completing the 5-star rating in my mind is how the movie’s structured- it’s rare to see any shot lasting less than 5 minutes, so it’s pretty good for people with ADD who won’t to have better attention span (I think a couple shots were at least 10 minutes, I could be wrong).
loading...
One of the great films in recent years. A must on Blu-ray!
I’ll say right up front that this is not the kind of film that will appeal to everyone. Many people apparently found it “boring,” though I was deeply moved and found it gripping throughout. The film’s setpieces, especially the ambush in the forest and the street battle in the refugee camp, are amazing pieces of cinema that people will be talking about for years to come. They’re not just virtuoso displays–they really pack emotional punch. The performances were uniformly excellent, but I was especially impressed by the production design and cinematography. Emmanuel Lubezki’s camerwork is his best to date and really the best I have seen in years, with its subtle gradations of light and astounding long takes. There is no one more talented than him today.
I can’t imagine watching this film on cable, or frankly even on DVD, because so much of its impact derives from its immersive, tactile quality. I saw it twice in the theaters, and will only watch it again on Blu-ray. It will never appeal to everyone, but I believe that in time it will be recognized as a modern classic.
loading...
Beware the two-disc special edition
“Children of Men” was film of the year for me. It was clever, thought-provoking, action-packed and brilliantly acted by seasoned performers. Particularly amazing were the two chase scenes that were filmed in one continuous shot. So you would think that if the filmmakers went to the trouble of releasing a two-disc edition of the film, they would explain how those two key sequences were filmed. Wrong.
Instead, much of the space that could have been devoted to this was wasted on the verbal meanderings of … Slavoj Zizek, an over-earnest “cultural theorist” who had nothing whatever to do with the making of the film. Zizek is one those fashionably oblique academics given to making sweepingly counter-intuitive statements in broken English. My favourite is his definition of a good film:
“It simply make reality the more what it already is”.
On and on he drones, chicly quoting Hegel while explaining that “the film gives the best diagnosis of ideological despair of late capitalism” or that the movie instantiates “the paradox of what I would call anamorphosis” (as opposed to “what I would call the paradox of anamorphosis”). At one point he refers to Michelangelo’s “David” as “a statue of Michelangelo or whatever”. But what else should we expect from the man who recently appeared on “Democracy Now” to declare that “let’s everybody in the world, except US citizens, be allowed to vote and elect the American government”? Sigh …
So: caveat emptor. The movie itself is truly brilliant, but the second disc is a let-down. I didn’t want to hear a block of “theory”: I wanted to know more about the making of the film. I suspect that others who really adored this film feel the same way. That means the two-disc edition loses two stars for me.
loading...
Realistic dystopian vision, but lacks focus
At first, this film seemed to be a sci-fi film noire in the mold of Blade Runner. It portrays a dystopian society in which women lack fertility. Indeed, unlike a lot of sci-fi films nowadays, “Children of Men” does not shy away from making dystopia realistic and grisly. Key characters are killed suddenly, the color palate is mainly grey, and all of the key characters have traits that make them less than admirable. In one chilling scene, an important character is last shown being taken away by troops with a hood over her head, which is the last we see of her.
The film could have really been a sci-fi hit had it not been so pointless. It lacks focus and the plot never really grabs the viewer’s interest. A lot of important relationships and plot twists are left unexplained. We never learn why women become infertile or why immigrants are treated so badly, except perhaps that this is a dystopia. Unlike Blade Runner, the movie had no insightful moment or moral revelation. Rather than provoking thought, the film’s end seems too hollywood for the genre.
I like the style of dystopia, the basic idea by P.D. James, and the cinematography, but the plot (which should be the heart of the film) is just not strong enough. I found myself bored during the film and frankly not caring about the characters or the outcome. I would give the director another shot at a sci-fi dystopia, but with a tighter story-line.
loading...
TERRIBLE – Can’t understand all these great reviews!
I don’t want to give away the story or anything for those who will watch this, but the movie is boring… Nothing happens, and nothing gets resolved in the end. Seriously one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a while.
loading...