Soylent Green

One of the greatest sci-fi films of the 1970s. Set in a dystopian world of 2022, there is a major problem with over population, greenhouse effect, resources running dry, famine and crime. Detective Thorn is called in to investigate the murder of a major CEO that was a part of Soylent Industries - the company responsible for providing plankton from the ocean for food to the area's population. Thorn finds himself falling down a rabbit hole while investigating the murder. An enjoyable watch! 2022 is not that far away - it doesn't look like this scenario is going to take place in our real world 2022 but who knows what may happen in a few more years after that. Love the film - recommended! 9.5/10

This movie paints a very bleak future for planet Earth. What makes this movie so good is that the future seen may very well be a reality someday. A poisoned environment, an overpopulated planet and total disregard for human life all seem to be in there early stages today. Soylent Green is a very good and very believable film.

Soylent Green is heartbreaking in its depiction of dystopia. I considered it to be close to Planet of the Apes in quality; a fantastic story and film that had to find ways to work around its limitations. The weakest moments are due to Heston's hammy acting and weak fight choreography but it's about average for the era. Despite Heston's limitations as an actor, he sure knows how to scream a memorable ending line. This is Robinson's last fill, and knowing that, his death scene hits much harder.

2022 and Earth is in dire condition. Natural resources have been exhausted and food is largely provided by Soylent, a company that makes packaged meals from plankton. Against this backdrop we meet Detective Thorn (Charlton Heston), a police homicide detective. His latest case is the murder of William R Simonson, an executive at Soylent. Original, clever, ahead-of-its-time thriller. Great plot, well directed. Charlton Heston rises above his usual wooden acting to put in a good performance. Best performance on show, however, is from Edward G Robinson, as Sol. It is amazing the environmental picture this movie paints, as it was made in 1973, before anyone worried about global warming etc. It is starting to look fairly accurate, unfortunately.

I saw this movie shortly after it first came out - when I was a kid. The scene that sticks with me to this day is when the scoops come to break up the riot. The cop says, "The supply of Soylent Green has been exhausted. The scoops are on the way." Then the front-end loader trucks come and scoop the people up like so much garbage. The fact that 2022 looks like 1973 is entirely plausible because society has gone retrograde. Charlton Heston's performance is beautifully nuanced and believable. Edward G. Robinson is unforgettable as Sol. References to this movie pop up in shows like "The Simpsons" and "Millennium" for the simple reason that it is a visionary look at the future with real heart - a true classic.

Very interesting. The big twist wasn't as big a shock as maybe they had hoped for and it was very dated but it did get my mind working. It really got me thinking about a world without vegetation or livestock and made me appreciate the world I live in a lot more. Charlton Heston does a good job, as do all the supporting characters, and it was a very realistic film which was surprising. It lacked direction at times and a lot of the settings and background needed more explanation but it was still a surprisingly good and intelligent movie. The main fault that I could find was that I didn't want the film to end when it did, I would have liked to see what happened next. 7/10