In the 70's, it was "overpopulation and pollution" that set the environmentalists ranting and raving about the coming world cataclysm. Hollywood happily obliged and made a movie. A damn good movie, as it turned out, with great writing, great direction, and great acting.
Ironically, the year used in the movie is 2022, the same year in which I am reviewing this film. Happily, the dire predictions of movie haven't come true. The entire current population of the world, it has been calculated, if stood shoulder to shoulder, would just fill up the borders of the small American city, Gary, Indiana. Acid rain has become a concern of the past, people in New York are moving to Florida, not sleeping in the stairwells of apartment buildings. But that has never stopped the hysterical doomsayers. In the 80's, we were warned of the coming Ice Age, and Hollywood happily made movies about the earth freezing solid. As we entered the 2000's, it was "Global Warming", until it was shown that the mean temperature of the earth has actually been falling. Now it's "Climate Change", and those that don't believe that the climate is changing are called "Climate Deniers" .... and Hollywood has happily made a lot of climate changing type movies, full of big waves and big storms and more dire predictions. Ahh, Hollywood, ya gotta love it!
But getting back to the movie. If you can overlook the absurd doomsday plot, "Soylent Green" is a good, engaging flick, that even entertains to this day. Charlton Heston was still in his prime, and gives a great performance. It really is a Heston tour de force, with great and touching support from Edgar G. Robinson. The rest of the cast are adequate, but nobody really stands out.
So if you are a doomsday "Climate Change" radical, this movie will give you goosebumps. For the rest of us, just turn off your brain and enjoy a good SciFi flick.
Ironically, the year used in the movie is 2022, the same year in which I am reviewing this film. Happily, the dire predictions of movie haven't come true. The entire current population of the world, it has been calculated, if stood shoulder to shoulder, would just fill up the borders of the small American city, Gary, Indiana. Acid rain has become a concern of the past, people in New York are moving to Florida, not sleeping in the stairwells of apartment buildings. But that has never stopped the hysterical doomsayers. In the 80's, we were warned of the coming Ice Age, and Hollywood happily made movies about the earth freezing solid. As we entered the 2000's, it was "Global Warming", until it was shown that the mean temperature of the earth has actually been falling. Now it's "Climate Change", and those that don't believe that the climate is changing are called "Climate Deniers" .... and Hollywood has happily made a lot of climate changing type movies, full of big waves and big storms and more dire predictions. Ahh, Hollywood, ya gotta love it!
But getting back to the movie. If you can overlook the absurd doomsday plot, "Soylent Green" is a good, engaging flick, that even entertains to this day. Charlton Heston was still in his prime, and gives a great performance. It really is a Heston tour de force, with great and touching support from Edgar G. Robinson. The rest of the cast are adequate, but nobody really stands out.
So if you are a doomsday "Climate Change" radical, this movie will give you goosebumps. For the rest of us, just turn off your brain and enjoy a good SciFi flick.