Most dramas set in the future show everything is sleek, perfect, and technologically immortal.
This film is much more realistic.
The transportation is undependable, the authorities are as bungling as ever, and the people simmer in a constant state of supressed rage. Ahhh — the people. There are a few real actors in the cast, but most of the characters are FX video game archetypes.
When I first saw this film going on ten years ago, it was a thrill ride into a not-so-perfect future. The bizarre humanoids were clever and cute and the genetic scientists were just a few more interesting Hollywood characters.
A lot has changed since then. Now when you watch the film, it’s almost a horror flick.
One of the few really profitable areas in modern science is genetic engineering. All the traditional sciences and engineering disciplines have pretty well run their course. Even electronics has hit the wall.
But genetics — the possibilities are limitless. They’re researching growing human replacement organs, they’ve found non-embryonic stem cells, and they’re even developing brain tissue to be used to run machines like a living computer.
Just think, robots with human brains but without the need for human health insurance, vacations; hell, any benefits whatsoever. Any CEO’s wet dream come true.
Just last year scientists in the UK raised a red flag, demanding some kind of international rules on splicing human genes with those of lesser species. With all the billions of dollars out there (trillions!!) and all the political clout that represents, you can be damn sure any rules will be full of loopholes.
You can bet China and Korea and Iran already have extensive genetic research labs that are off the grid. Hell, our own Department of Defense probably does as well.
And so all the strange looking humanoids in this film could very well come to pass. Humans with the head of a cat or the beak of a bird.
Even voracious carnivore-like humans with the head of hammerhead shark — they won’t be the denizens of our imagination much longer, but our next door neighbors.
