Where does science fiction meet reality? With the many mounting problems facing humanity’s future, the brutal sci-fi thriller “Children of Men” presents a fresh approach to the end of civilization as we know it. The movie takes place in an apocalyptic 2027 where the women of the world have suddenly lost the ability to bear children.

Some agonize over humanity’s end, while others simply pretend that nothing is wrong as the world falls into chaos.

The movie is set in England which stands as one of few societies that hasn’t collapsed because of the turmoil in the world. Refugees from other struggling nations are fenced out and deported to camps outside the city.

Theo Faron (Clive Owen) has all but given up on the world until his ex-wife calls on him to help her smuggle a miraculously pregnant refugee named Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to the Human Project, a secret scientific group dedicated to the salvation of humanity.

It’s no surprise that the acting in the film is excellent given the cast of such skilled actors as Clive Owen and Michael Caine, who plays Theo’s eccentric marijuana-growing friend Jasper.

Leading lady Claire-Hope Ashitey also delivers a strong performance as the expectant mother who is in no way a damsel in distress.

Though Theo assumes the role as her protector, she is by no means weak. Kee has a strong and, at times, brazen personality befitting the last hope of humanity.

The most disappointing aspect of the film is that it does not attempt in any way to explain the reasons behind the sudden wave of infertility that plagues the women of Earth.

The time in which the movie is set is such that the world seems to have given up on a cure and therefore has no instances of shock where characters simply wonder why.

People have gone so long without children that they seem to have accepted their fate.

The film also fails to address any religious implications that mass infertility and a lone birth might have.

Rather, the story focuses on the character of Theo as he struggles through literal war zones to smuggle the pregnant Kee to the Human Project.

A possible purpose for this omission might be to force audiences to reflect on what the possible cause of the fall of mankind might be.

Is man destined to fall from the top of the evolutionary ladder? Dinosaurs once ruled the Earth with not a challenger in sight.

With the way in which we currently treat our environment we may someday have to come to terms with our own destruction. 2027 may be a stretch, but it does raise the interesting and pertinent question of whether some of the seemingly harmless things we do might have unforeseen dire consequences for future generations.

“Children of Men” is an entertaining movie. However, it may not inspire any warm feelings of joy and hope. The makers of the film spare audiences none of the gore nor violence in creating their dystopian version of 2027.

This film is at times as disturbing and graphic as recent war movies, and while it does add a serious tone to the film that places the audience into the reality of the story, it seems far fetched for Theo and Kee to overcome such lethal environments.

The movie has some powerful moments that capture the fear and dread felt by the human race as it faces its own extinction and will make audiences think, but it does not realize the full potential of its basic concept.