The Pod Generation

This concept was really interesting...for the first 15 minutes. Sadly, they decided to go the super safe, PC route and have a social commentary on things like how a man carries the baby pod. The dialogue is akin to a bad podcast that questions the validity of child rearing vs pod rearing.

This concept could have been an awesome horror movie or sci-fi thriller where pod babies go wrong. Like a black mirror episode on the wrongs of growing a human in a pod, instead it's literally nothing.

The set design was okay, but besides that there's no chemistry, no intriguing storylines and what you get is 1 hour and 50 minutes of watching paint dry. Hope someone does a horror version of this though! Because that would be watchable. 3.8/10.

It's late 21st century New York City. Humanity is slowly divorcing itself from nature. Alvy Novy (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is studying the unusual field of horticulture. His wife Rachel Novy (Emilia Clarke) is more normal. She gets an opportunity to have a child through the latest version of the pod. It's an artificial form of gestating their baby.

Initially, I'm 50-50 with this premise. Sci-fi often does these big swings and they don't always make sense. I don't completely buy this world. Slowly, the movie gets a bit more quirky and ridiculous. It starts injecting a comedic tone. It's funny but not laugh out loud funny. It's a small sci-fi which is likely to be lost in the mix unless one is searching for some Ejiofor or Emilia Clarke.

"The Pod Generation" had the potential to shine as a gripping Black Mirror episode, with a compact runtime of just one hour. However, it seemed to have been needlessly stretched to 111 minutes, weakening its impact and leaving the narrative feeling rather hollow. Throughout the film, there were several scenes (dream scenes, therapy sessions, ...) that felt exuberant and ultimately failed to contribute significantly to the story, resulting in a sense of dragging and stagnation.

Even with the extended runtime, "The Pod Generation" left viewers with a lingering sense of incompleteness, as though there were unresolved threads that needed further exploration. I would have loved further world building or an extension of the conspiracies that were teased. Without any of that, the story could have been tighter, focusing on its core themes and plot points, and it would have benefitted from a more concise approach to storytelling, akin to the thought-provoking brevity that Black Mirror is known for.

Start's off strong and intriguing with dark undertones..... around halfway through the film however, it just suddenly turns silly. The behaviour of the two leads becomes juvenile and slapstick and it goes from alluding to being more of a thriller into a light hearted comedy. It also slows pace massively and the second half is just padded out with nothing really interesting happening and just more of a romance story.

This would have been better suited to an hour long short show, and it ending with a sinister tone. The two leads act well with what they are given. The dreamlike sequences were also overused massively and irrelevant to the story.

I liked the premise of the film and the visuals so it had that going for it. It got the sci-fi aesthetic right at least.

I can't remember the last time I watched a movie with as little conflict or drama as 'The Pod Generation'. Did they just think that their concept was so original and interesting that they didn't even need to add a hook of any sort to the script? It's really bizarre to watch. There is nothing at stake in the film. Nothing to look forward to or anticipate or even think about. The film just plods along for 100 minutes of nothingness.

The only thing that saves it from being completely unwatchable is the charisma of its two leads. About all you can really do is sit back and peacefully enjoy their interactions and screen time. If that sounds like a nice time to you, you might just enjoy this film.

'The Pod Generation' is a film completely unwilling to step out of its own comfort zone. The concept is mildly interesting (for the first 15 minutes) and that's about it. A generous 5/10.