Directed by John Hillcoat, 'The Road' follows a nameless father and son in their attempt to walk across a post-apocalyptic United States. Their aim is to reach the coast and a potentially better existence, although what they'll find when they arrive at their destination is an unknown factor. It's a similar premise to the recent 'The Book of Eli' starring Denzel Washington, who was on a mission to "Go West" (no, it had nothing to do with The Pet Shop Boys) in order to return a religious book to a safe location. In fact, The Road is basically The Book of Eli without the multiple fight sequences. The story unfolds in a USA inhabited by ruthless ...  Read the complete review

Destroying the world can be an expensive business, and no-one knows this better than Roland Emmerich who has chosen to annihilate the human race many times. He sent aliens after us using $75 million, ("Independence Day") froze us for $125 million, ("The Day After Tomorrow") and most recently drowned us splashing $200 million. ("2012") But it's unfair to place all the blame on Emmerich since our planet has gone through several asteroid/zombie/predator/ape/robot/biochemical/nuclear attacks. But John Hillcoat's "The Road" shows that spending less can achieve the exact level of fear and terror if not more. The cause of this ...  Read the complete review

The Road is a very desolate and slow moving film that takes a look at a fictional post-apocalyptic society in which mere survival is your biggest challenge. Viggo Mortensen is very good as the father who must nurture his young son and look after him, preparing him for the worst at the same time as keeping the light shining inside. It's a hard film to watch, but very well made. I hadn't read anything about this when I first sat down to watch it. I got the impression, from the main front picture of Mortensen and his on screen son, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, that it wasn't going to be a feel good film, and probably had something to do with having to walk a hell ...  Read the complete review

Even though it has been two weeks since I have seen The Road, I still find it hard to shake off the terrible feeling of desolation and despair that it evoked in me. The whole concept of a world that is almost dead, symbolised by dry and brittle trees that crash down on every side; a humanity that has become worse than animals, eating one another without conscience to satisfy the terrible hunger - all of this seems much too close for comfort. The type of apocalypse which has turned the world into a sterile empty shell is unclear and somewhat irrelevant. The loss is total and irreversible, and there is no hope of redemption. Firestorms light up the horizon, ...  Read the complete review

Science fiction filmmaking doesn't get more profound or moving than The Road. Indeed, it embodies everything the genre is supposed to be about, using hypothetical supposition to illuminate the deepest truths of the human condition. The scenario it posits has been explored a thousand times before (the end of the world and what happens afterwards) but rarely has it seemed so chillingly believable. So too does its earnest defense of basic humanism--in our ability to hold onto our souls, even in the most appalling circumstances--resonate with raw, unvarnished strength. We never learn what causes the film's apocalypse, but whatever it is, it's as bad as they come. ...  Read the complete review