This movie is plain bad. It's a piece of pseudo-scientific neo-conservative pseudo-religious ideology disguised as science fiction.
Why?
Let me take one scene that surely is no big spoiler, but that explains pretty much everything of that movie:
The daughter (and her friend) need to return to the family home where her brother lives, due to.. no, not science, due to some supernatural inspiration, let us coin that a little bit more clear: faith (in "god"). Let's refer to the daughter and her friend henceforth as "the elite", because that's what they represent. Likewise, let's refer to the brother and his family as the "sheeple", because they represent those: uneducated, inflexible, conservative - although they're uneducated because the "administration" wants them to be that way (incidentally, this is what we actually *can* expect in the very near future, so maybe that's the predictive part of the sci-fi).
Since they just dismissed the brother and his family's way of life as morally inferior, they're not really welcome anymore.
So what is the smart way to handle this? Ask for forgiveness, maybe refer to "family values"? No, we're talking about the morally superior elite here! Of course they attack the place by putting fire to their crops. So, the brother is distracted and goes to the rescue putting his life at risk (but what a small expense is that compared to the possible success of the elite!). Anyway, now the daughter is in the house and receives a message - no, not from science - from, well, let's put it as what it is: from god. Well, it's her brother, in fact, it's her, so no matter, basically man is god. Not really Christian canon, nor that of any other religion (except Scientology, if I remember correctly).
We now see: the elite is represented by the "chosen one". And since also the sheeple understand that all is forgiven, the brother who just returns from risking his life due to the great ideas of the elite (and frankly, pretty much without need, for as what she does then is actually stop him from killing them by referring to family bounds, which she could have done the very first moment) accepts the "truth", which is: the elite may do what they want, including risking the lives of the sheeple if it's "imperative", because they (the elite) know "the truth" and are morally superior. They are the side of the "chosen one". The sheeple are to trust, or better believe, and follow. Into death as needs be.
See, this is what this movie is about. It's not about science. Everything that is science in here is just a disguise to "prove" that man is god. It's also not optimistic, because what we see is a dystopian future.
The basic message of the whole movie is: Restriction is not needed. Ecology is used to oppress the people (the ominous "administration" who doesn't want to have people educated!). We can spend all the resources we want, because at some point in the future there will be a chosen one to save us. Not science! A chosen one, from the elite.
Oh, and while we're at it: it's interesting to see that although obviously the planet went down the gutter due to some ecological catastrophe, all the people still are driving gas guzzlers. The only explanation why this is still allowed by the "oppressive administration" must then be that burning fuel was not what triggered the catastrophe.. think about it.
I know, most people won't realize the hidden messages in this movie. Not actively, that is. But they'll *get the point* ("John Carpenter's They Live", anyone?). They are undeniably there.
The whole rest of the movie is - simply an action movie. Unluckily not even a good one. The graphics effects may be physically accurate, but they look like a HOM - a texture glitch in a computer game (do game engines send us messages by this?).
At least the handiwork is well done, so it's 2 stars out of ten.
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