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For the first time in a few months, Suzie_Q and I took a trip to Crawley’s Cineworld on Friday night to see ‘The Children of Men’. Set in the year 2027, humans have lost the ability to reproduce despite the best efforts of leading scientists, and the world’s youngest person (aged 18 and a celebrity) has just been stabbed to death. Britain is run by a government making best use of ‘big brother’ Internet technology to control the population, and illegal immigrants are being deported by the coach load in scenes reminiscent of the Jewish gettos in WWII. Clive Owen (think ‘Closer’ with Julia Roberts) plays Theo - a man caught up in an effort to get the world’s only pregant woman to the safety of a fabled ‘human project’ ship (called ‘Tomorrow’ - yes a bit cheesy).

As somebody who enjoyed ’28 Days Later’ I found this film to be similar in style - stirring up the same apocalyptic ‘what would I do?’ emotions in a rollercoaster ride which kept me on the edge of my seat. I’m not sure I approved of what they did to the reputation of Bexhill on Sea, my Grandparents lived there for twenty years and I have fond memories of my childhood - being dragged around endless charity shops. Turning it into a mass deportation camp just doesn’t seem fair - why not ‘Margate’? Then again I did find Bexhill at 8th in the ’Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places To Live In The UK‘ book at the weekend so what do I know.

I do recommend Children of Men, it’ll give you something to think (or worry) about when you go to sleep at night, you might even start recycling. The battle in Bexhill is easily comparable with the likes of Saving Private Ryan, I was most impressed with the special effects (not quite as graphic as SPR but not far off). My only criticism is that the material covering the train seats which Theo sits on (see photo above) is unlikely to be around in 2027, it’s an old carriage from the GNER line built in the 1980s, that material’s being replaced now so I’d like to have seen that detail picked up ;-). Do keep an eye out for the ‘yet to happen’ old newspaper headlines which feature at various points in the film though, poor old Bobby Charlton doesn’t make ninety.

Technorati Tags: crawley, cineworld, the children of men

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