The Children of Men

The Wednesday Film

It's safe to say that this film was pretty pants, on my scale of films. However, I pretty much knew this would be the case when I read the book a couple of weeks before going to see the film. It's generally the case that the film is worse than the book (Lord of the Rings being the exception because I couldn't read the book, well because I didn't like it - not that I was that keen on the films, but there we go,) and I can confirm that this was the case with this film.

Firstly, they changed the dates when it was set, (I can actually see the need for this, what with the book being written in 1992, and set in the near future, I can see the need to push it back a bit,) secondly, when the youngest person on earth died, they DIDN'T go and seek out the second youngest, because the first didn't exactly handle the pressure well. Then we meet Theo, who looks more like an alcoholic than a university professor, and then the film pretty much skips to half way through the book, leaving out all the back story, like the Quietus. (In the film the Quietus comes in a box - a suicide pill I think.)

They left out the autocratic ruler of England called Xan (Theo's cousin, who is vital to the plot - they renamed him Nigel or something,) who is integral to the conclusion of the book. At this point they rejoin some elements of the book with the car journey trying to rush the pregnant woman to safety, and then we leave the book for the final time, in order to break into a deportation facility, to get onto a boat to escape to the Human Project.

Maybe if I hadn't read the book, I would have made more of the film. But the book was so very good, I felt that the film could have kept more rigidly to it, whilst keeping the suspense. Also, they could have successfully included a lot more back story about Theo, and Julian, and about the Five Fishes, and how they came about and their cause.

Altogether, not a film I am desperate to see again, and I wont be getting it on DVD any time soon, but should it be on telly, and I am desperate for something to watch, (and lets face it, it's a highly likely situation at the moment!), I could watch it again.

2 Stars.

On the other hand, the meal TA and I had at Weatherspoon's before hand was very nice (although my chili could have been a tad hotter, unlike TA's chicken burger,) but for £6.49 for two meals, I thought it was bargainous!

JK