In the early years of this century, many fans were hoping Clive Owen (who we’re huge fans of) would be the next James Bond. He never was cast as that character, but that hasn’t held him back from having a great career. One of his best movies came out the same year Daniel Craig made his Bond debut in Casino Royale. It’s a dark action film set in a dystopian future, where the fate of humanity lies in the hands of Owen’s character. A depressed alcoholic who doesn’t have the proper footwear for the dangerous journey he’s on. The film is Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men, and it’s time for it to be REVISITED!
Indeed, when people make a list of the best movies of the 2000s, Children of Men is often in the Top 10 and should be at the top of the list for any sci-fi fan. While Cuarón is in the pantheon of great directors now, in the period, he didn’t quite have the reputation he does now, having made Y tu mamá también and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While Children of Men wouldn’t do particularly well financially, it was well-received by critics and quickly became a cult film. Obviously, the right people saw it because Cuarón was able to jump right into Gravity, where he and DP Emmanuel Lubezki were able to perfect the long-take technique they pioneered here in the fantastic car chase sequence. Indeed, Children of Men is a masterpiece that, shockingly, was ignored for many of the major prizes at the year’s Academy Awards (it was nominated for its screenplay, editing and cinematography). In this episode of Revisited, which is written by Cody Hamman with editing and narration by Adam Walton, we examine what we maintain is one of the best films of its era.