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Generally favorable reviews- based on 691 Ratings

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  1. Dec 8, 2010
    I sort of enjoyed the movie for a while until the nonsense about refuge camps and when it started to look like all this film brought up was questions with no cohession. Specifically if you think the characters developed and evolved throughout the movie and that all the different ideas were stuck together well then you are nuts. Yes the music may have been good or the photos, I dont know and dont really care. I disagree that the ending was crap in that if the director was trying to convey how nuts people hand gone by believeing in some mythical humainity project and that it was just an ordinary boat then yes it was actually quite a good ending, if.... I thought thats what it might have been about how he just failed at the finish line and that the woman was saved by fishermen. The camp thing was nuts, if the regime was so oppresive they would have just killed them all and it seemed to morp from an anti fuji thing at start of movie into an anti muslim thing and there were also causcasians in there, very bizare. Plus the fact he was only hit in the arms(v.unlikely) and that being hit in the arms twice killed him(not so likely). Never explaine why infertility was there and what difference one baby could have made. If they had made this about scientists rushing to understand say a cure for a disease and their being a fascist regime only using it on non-illegal immigrants it would have been a much better movie. Or they could have gone down the whole chase route more throughtly and made human project a peacful orginization protecting the baby from the fishies. Or even the "terrorits" could have been **** who created a disease through gene technology by accident, who were hated but were also required to solve the same issue they created, all of these different scenarios would have been much deeper than what was presented -nothing. Expand
  2. Dec 13, 2011
    Why do so many people consider this to be such a great film? I'm not saying it's bad. It's just okay. Not epic or astounding as many critics seem to believe. Clive Owen seems incapable of epic or astounding. I did really like the cinematography, but this movie just lacked in plot design and character development. Plain and simple. And as far as dystopian thrillers go, I would rank it below V for Vendetta and above Judge Dredd, hovering near the level of The Book of Eli. If you wish to see a realistic look into a troubled future, see John Hillcoat's terrific adaptation of The Road instead. Expand
  3. Jul 3, 2014
    This one was a major disappointment for me. I will start off with the few positives before moving into the negatives. Firstly, the acting was good, especially from Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and then Chiwetel Ejiofor and Charlie Hunnam is smaller roles. In addition, the cinematography here is great, especially during action sequences. The whole film has this really cool video game esque feel to what unfolds that is just missing the prompts for what you are supposed to do next. In addition, the colors here are great, as the gray everywhere really sums up the despair. Now, for the negatives. There are not a ton, but they are big enough to really hamper this one. Firstly, the story sucks. In premise, it sounds good, but in practice it is boring and uninteresting. In addition, there needs to be some kind of introduction to this world. Many things are occuring in this film and it never really explains why. I know that Cuaron hates backstory, but it is needed in this type of film to allow the audience to understand this futuristic setting. Without it, the audience is left guessing as to why the events are happening. Another major issue surrounds one of the deaths in this film, as it is hinted that it was a specific reason, but the reason is murky at best and really needed better explaining. It is a very important sequence, yet the reasoning behind is left largely unanswered. The script is also pretty bad in most parts as the dialogue had me cringing quite frequently. It all felt very unnatural and poorly worded. Finally, Clara-Hope **** is quite annoying and since she had a large role, it really subtracted from the overall film. Many find this film to be thought-provoking and cautionary. I cannot help but agree, as it left me wondering how it got so much praise and a warning to not trust the general consensus all the time. Expand

Universal acclaim - based on 38 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 38
  2. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. Reviewed by: David Ansen
  2. Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    Picture more than delivers on the action front -- not in bang-for-your-buck spectacle but in the kind of gritty, doculike sequences that haul viewers out of their seats and alongside the main protags.
  3. Owen carries the film more in the tradition of a Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda than a Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford. He has to wear flip-flops for part of the time without losing his dignity, and he never reaches for a weapon or guns anyone down. Cuaron and Owen may have created the first believable 21st-century movie hero.