ProcrastiBlog

Wow, that was a good picture. Towards the end, it has what may be one of the most suspenseful sequences I've ever seen in a movie: what feels like (but isn't) one long hand-held shot of Clive Owen moving step-by-step through Hell on Earth, trying not to get brained or eviscerated just long enough to make sure Humanity's Last Glimmer of Hope* isn't lost forever---a sequence which will tie your guts up in knots only to have them unravel for Spoiler-Free reasons immediately thereafter. All of which, naturally, brought to mind the wise words of William Adama:

Why are we as a people worth saving? We still commit murder because of greed and spite and jealousy, and we still visit all of our sins upon our children. We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything we've done... Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore.

Maybe people this sad, sorry, venal, and fucked-up (you know, people like us) just aren't fit to survive?

* One interesting thing about this movie is that the MacGuffin** is not Humanity's Only Salvation, but merely its Last Glimmer of Hope. This is not exactly a hopeful movie---it posits that the entire world irretrievably goes down the crapper sometime around 2008. Which is pretty ballsy pessimism and, sadly enough, seems about right.

** It occurs to me that the term MacGuffin is not applicable here as the precise nature of humanity's Last Glimmer of Hope is quite directly relevant to the plot of this motion picture. I rule this observation inadmissible on the grounds that debating what is or is not a MacGuffin is both my and Alfred Hitchcock's least favorite conversation ever.