Children of Men

I was tremendously excited about the prospect of this film - headlined by three of major favourite actors (Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine) and directed by Mexican Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) - so I'm happy to admit from the outset that my expectations were very high. And the opening sequence, set in a coffee bar in a 2027 London, only served to confirm my suspicions: grimy, dank and yet utterly, utterly convincing. Then I remembered Sin City, and the dangers of assuming the start of the film will be indicative of the rest of it. Thankfully, unlike the Rodrieguez/Miller picture, Children of Men maintains a lot of its brillance through its length. Unfortunately, it never quite maintains the engagement of those opening minutes, at least in cohesive terms: there are a few shots towards the end of such techincal audacity that they are simply breathtaking.