"The Humanity Bureau" (R, 1:35) is a dystopian sci-fi action thriller directed by Rob W. King ("Hungry Hills") and written by Dave Schultz ("Considering Love and Magic"). The plot revolves around how the government deals with its population when climate change and other factors cause such harm that resources become scarce and the divide between the haves and have-nots becomes uncrossable.
Noah Kross (Oscar winner Nicolas Cage) is an agent in The Humanity Bureau, a governmental organization which assesses whether people who live outside of the city walls are able to care for themselves and are being productive members of society or whether they should be resettled to a mysterious location called The New Eden. Although he is up for a promotion, Noah allows his personal feelings to influence his judgment when he takes pity on a single mother (Sarah Lind) and her young son (Jakob Davies) and goes on the run with them (trying to get to Canada) so they won't be sent away.
"The Humanity Bureau" is even more ridiculous than it sounds. The set-up envisions a combination of science-based doomsday scenarios which are scientifically impossible - and the situation it sets up for society and government isn't much more plausible. What's more, the plot points seem random and silly, while the twists are either predictable, exasperating - or both. And the characters rarely behave, react or speak like rational people do. Regarding the acting, there is no weak link - all the actors are equally weak. The script tries to make some good points, but the messages it tries to deliver are wholly ineffective in such a mess of a movie. Oh, the humanity! "D"
Noah Kross (Oscar winner Nicolas Cage) is an agent in The Humanity Bureau, a governmental organization which assesses whether people who live outside of the city walls are able to care for themselves and are being productive members of society or whether they should be resettled to a mysterious location called The New Eden. Although he is up for a promotion, Noah allows his personal feelings to influence his judgment when he takes pity on a single mother (Sarah Lind) and her young son (Jakob Davies) and goes on the run with them (trying to get to Canada) so they won't be sent away.
"The Humanity Bureau" is even more ridiculous than it sounds. The set-up envisions a combination of science-based doomsday scenarios which are scientifically impossible - and the situation it sets up for society and government isn't much more plausible. What's more, the plot points seem random and silly, while the twists are either predictable, exasperating - or both. And the characters rarely behave, react or speak like rational people do. Regarding the acting, there is no weak link - all the actors are equally weak. The script tries to make some good points, but the messages it tries to deliver are wholly ineffective in such a mess of a movie. Oh, the humanity! "D"