Synopsis: A father (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son struggle to survive as they travel southward a number of years after an unspecified, devastating cataclysm has destroyed civilization, killing all plant and animal life and obscuring the sun. Only remnants of mankind remain alive, reduced to scavenging or cannibalism in the barren wasteland.Let me start by saying that yes, I've read Cormac McCarthy's novel that this is based on I loved his dark vision of the world he presented. I was afraid from the first moment I heard there would be a movie based on it that there was just no way to capture what was essentially a father-son survival based on the love of that father for his son. I thought they'd try to turn it into more of an action movie with big special effects and end up with something akin to Mad Max or The Road Warrior. Well, they didn't. This movie, although nowhere near as good as the book (how could a movie be as good as the book?) is a really good effort.
There are a few reasons I enjoyed it. First is the acting by both Viggo and the boy is first rate. Very emotional performances by both and they had to be for it to work. The second thing I really liked it the world they present here, with the gray landscapes and incredibly bleak and dark world. It's just depressing, as needed, and visually compelling.
What I didn't like? It's not as complex as the book. But again, how could it be? If you didn't read the book I'd have to think you might watch this movie and just think it's a tale that could be summed up and told in a lot less time. Some of the intricacies of the book are lost, simply by the fact that movies don't demand you use as much imagination or get as detailed. A 20 paragraph description in a book is sometimes 2 seconds in a movie, and this is a story that's needs all the words. Oh you'll get the point I think, about humanity and moral obligations and such, it's just not as beautiful as Cormac's near prose he so beautifully detailed.
So I love the book and I like the movie. I think if you've read the book you'll be satisfied but it's a case of if you haven't read the book you may not care for this film. Either way it's worth your time.
7.5/10
