4 ms·
When did you read it? I think the US went heavy on post-apocalyptic movies and books since the GFC. Maybe there's a bit of "Seinfeld isn't funny" going on?
by stubybubs 3y ago
When did you read it? I think the US went heavy on post-apocalyptic movies and books since the GFC. Maybe there's a bit of "Seinfeld isn't funny" going on?
- sh34r 3y agoThere are several doomsday movies that predate The Road, were better at the time, and hold up far better today, IMO. Children of Men (2005) would be my top suggestion. The rare movie I've gone back and watched multiple times. You know why it's good? Because the central premise didn't come true (humanity is infertile), but we live in that dystopia now anyway. It's like Black Mirror but for the police state. It didn't go into hyperbole like The Road or The Day After Tomorrow. It was a realistic, slow-motion apocalypse. Going out with a whimper instead of a bang. However, Children of Men is admittedly not as bleak as The Road, so not a fair comparison. If you really want a film that produces bottomless despair in the viewer, I recommend Threads (1984) instead. It was produced by the BBC on a shoestring budget, and yet it's still a better film. I can't say I recommend it, but if you do watch it, the ending is on par with Requiem for a Dream for being memorable and filled with doom and horror. The Road just wasn't very good IMO. No Country for Old Men, on the other hand? Same writer, different genre, but excellent.
- the_af 3y agoNot sure. Ten years ago, maybe ? Mind you, I didn't think it was samey or cliched, I don't remember thinking "there are too many of these already". What I thought was that it was poorly written and uninteresting, and that it seemed like bleakness for its own sake.