Cuarón caught the world's eye big time in 2001 with Y tu mamá también, one of those rare films that capture the actual feeling of being alive on dead celluloid. No such luck this time round, which might be deemed fitting to the initial set-up of a future dystopia in which there are no more births and society is going to bitter ruin with the nihilism that deadening apocalypse has engendered. That, however, is no excuse for conversations which would seem wooden and ham-fisted in translated video games (I draw your attention, in particular, to Julianne Moore and Clive Owen attempting to convey that they're having a heart-felt argument in the scene on the bus). And the lack of a spark becomes unforgivable when new life in the form of the first pregnant woman in 18 years, whom stoic Clive has to shield from the machinations of the evil Government, enters the fray. From there on, it's largely explosions and ethnic stereotypes.It's a great pity as there's a lot to admire here: the metallic-tinted photography paints a grimy future of intricate details, and the action scenes, albeit totally OTT, are also viscerally compelling. A few too-brief cameos, especially that of Michael Caine's jaunty old hippy, also help to breathe a bit of life into the grim proceedings. But it's not enough: before long it's hard to care about a world which is too unconvincingly skewed to generate empathy or deserve redemption.
5/10
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