I am one of those people who saw Logan's Run in the 1970s, so perhaps that makes my view rosy. But I saw it as recently as 2019 and still enjoyed it again.
The story is about humanity enclosed in a domed city long after a war made the outside go afoul. Everything is run by an AI system that puts anyone over 30 through a 'renewal' ceremony (i.e. kills them off so they are replaced 1:1 by a baby grown in an artificial womb). Sandmen take care of 'runners' who try to escape the city once they reach 30 years of age.
One thing that immediately sets this film apart is the loving effort and detail put into sets and special effects. Yes, they are pre-Star Wars (and far from 1969's 2001) miniature effects, but the scenes of people on walkways while monorail trains rush over their heads, or the 3-D light show that plays during renewal, or the beautiful matte work on a destroyed Washington, D.C. later in the film are real works of art. This is true even if the supposed helicopter fly-over right at the start looks like a camera hovering over a miniature, unlike similar effects of X-wing fighters going into the Death Star Trench, which were done with a computerized camera and a much better choice of lighting and f-stops.
The characters in this film all have a childlike affectation to them, and this could get annoying. However, it suits the premise well: humans coddled by an AI and left without any substantial education so they don't start asking tough questions (or 'be too smart' like a little rogue girl in the middle of the film) would pretty much behave like sheep content to wallow in sex and parties while being fed and clothed in a color scheme according to years left before 'renewal.' Peter Ustinov plays a free human outside the dome at the end of the movie, and brings a different kind of simplicity, that of a nature-child. And the hapless inhabitants of the dome finally do get to see the outside world, which has healed from the impact of ancient war.
The film has enough self-knowledge and humor to poke fun at its limitations (e.g. naming a boxy robot, who wants to off the hero after he becomes a 'runner', simply 'Box'). This film leaves one wistful at a simpler life, yet wary at what cost it would come. Ignorance is bliss, but not really, is the simple message of the film.
I still enjoy it after seeing it 4 times, and that's worth at least a 7. For a younger generation, the miniatures special effects, fake laser pistols and oddly childish humans may be too much to take - my warning to you. On the other hand, if you enjoyed the original "West World" with Yul Brynner, "Soylent Green," or similar 70s dystopias, you'll appreciate this film.
The story is about humanity enclosed in a domed city long after a war made the outside go afoul. Everything is run by an AI system that puts anyone over 30 through a 'renewal' ceremony (i.e. kills them off so they are replaced 1:1 by a baby grown in an artificial womb). Sandmen take care of 'runners' who try to escape the city once they reach 30 years of age.
One thing that immediately sets this film apart is the loving effort and detail put into sets and special effects. Yes, they are pre-Star Wars (and far from 1969's 2001) miniature effects, but the scenes of people on walkways while monorail trains rush over their heads, or the 3-D light show that plays during renewal, or the beautiful matte work on a destroyed Washington, D.C. later in the film are real works of art. This is true even if the supposed helicopter fly-over right at the start looks like a camera hovering over a miniature, unlike similar effects of X-wing fighters going into the Death Star Trench, which were done with a computerized camera and a much better choice of lighting and f-stops.
The characters in this film all have a childlike affectation to them, and this could get annoying. However, it suits the premise well: humans coddled by an AI and left without any substantial education so they don't start asking tough questions (or 'be too smart' like a little rogue girl in the middle of the film) would pretty much behave like sheep content to wallow in sex and parties while being fed and clothed in a color scheme according to years left before 'renewal.' Peter Ustinov plays a free human outside the dome at the end of the movie, and brings a different kind of simplicity, that of a nature-child. And the hapless inhabitants of the dome finally do get to see the outside world, which has healed from the impact of ancient war.
The film has enough self-knowledge and humor to poke fun at its limitations (e.g. naming a boxy robot, who wants to off the hero after he becomes a 'runner', simply 'Box'). This film leaves one wistful at a simpler life, yet wary at what cost it would come. Ignorance is bliss, but not really, is the simple message of the film.
I still enjoy it after seeing it 4 times, and that's worth at least a 7. For a younger generation, the miniatures special effects, fake laser pistols and oddly childish humans may be too much to take - my warning to you. On the other hand, if you enjoyed the original "West World" with Yul Brynner, "Soylent Green," or similar 70s dystopias, you'll appreciate this film.