MOVIE REVIEW: THE ROAD

The Road follows the story of a father and his son's journey across a post-apocalyptic United States after an unexplained event has killed most life on Earth and ash blocks most sunlight making the planet cold and barren.

It is one of those deep, well thought out film's, that will have the audience thinking about it all the way home. It takes your emotions and tears them into a few different pieces.

At first, it starts out slow. Your wondering if they are ever going to get to what caused the post-apocalyptic world that you are watching the characters struggle through. Is a plot ever going to be revealed? What is the goal of the movie?

Then there is a certain scene in the movie that for me, made me realize there is no plot, it's just a simple story of a man and his son's survival. You never find out what caused the event and I think that makes it a better and stronger film. There is no elaborate special effects scene where a super volcano explodes, tidal waves destroy cities and the Earth shatters into several pieces. Once you realize this, your mind eases and you just take in the story.

The story itself is remarkable. The obstacles that humans must now endure are terrifying. With no animals alive and vegetation gone, humans have succumb to cannibalism to survive. This is the main fear for the two unnamed characters. Throughout there journey, they come across different gangs of survivors who hunt the "good guys" as the little boy describes themselves. They also come across locations where mass suicide has occurred and a shelter where a gang traps "the good guys" and harvests them to eat.

The small cast performs terrifically throughout the film. Vigo Mortensen plays the lead character, and Robert Duvall and Guy Pierce give great brief cameo's in the film.

The film leaves you wondering, what would you do in a situation like that. Would you be a good guy or a bad guy? Is there a difference, or is everyone just trying to survive. If your into fast paced CGI films, The Road probably wont be for you. But if you enjoy a great story that leaves you thinking, I highly recommend this. I give it a 5 out 5.