The Pod Generation: A Spoiler-Filled Discussion
***As the title would suggest, full spoilers for The Pod Generation follow***
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4REegy7hZykQ6jGyU7BTI2
Science fiction as a genre works best when it takes a current issue, pushes it to the end of the slippery slope, and shows what could happen with the world at that point. At the same time, the most disappointing science fiction is a story where they touch on these topics but refuse to dive deeper into the topic at hand. The Pod Generation does somewhat skirt some major issues but it does not go deep enough into any of them.
What Worked
The performances across the board are pretty solid. Chiwetel Ejiofor has one of the best performances in the movie as he slowly comes around to the idea of this being a real baby that is his and starts connecting with the pod. Rosalie Craig is also fantastic in her small supporting role where she plays the representative from Pegazus who oversees all the operations regarding the pod with a toxic positivity that only rarely shows cracks in that veneer. Emilia Clarke is fine but the movie does not give her a great chance to do too much with her character. She is kind of passive and the plot happens around her, which is weird considering how instrumental she is in setting the narrative in motion.
The other really cool part of the movie is the production design for what this futuristic world looks like. Everything looks like a logical progression from the design aesthetic of the present into the future while nothing feels like outside the realm of reality. That said, some of the designs are a little too on the nose, including the use of eyeballs all over the automated systems that are simultaneously acting as help to the human characters while also observing for Pegazus which runs everything.
What Didn't Work
The first biggest issue with the movie is the pacing. The film clocks in at nearly two hours and it does not necessarily need to be that long. There is definitely room to cut, especially when it comes to the dream sequences that Rachel partakes in since they go absolutely nowhere. The meat of the movie being the time that Rachel and Alvy spend with their pod could also have been shorter because it is arguably the least interesting part of the movie.
That leads to the next issue with the movie, namely that the narrative does not have a ton to say. Until the end of the film, it seems as if it is actively trying to not take a stance, which is weird considering how overtly anti-corporation the narrative is. This could come from the fact that the movie is trying to spend most of its time showcasing the new reality that comes from a generation of babies being born via this new reality. Going into the dangers of a wide-reaching corporation commoditizing and controlling everything from education to mental health services to international travel to the process around birthing but only in passing does not do enough to make raising these questions worthwhile. The narrative would have been better served by omitting these aspects, which also could have cut down the runtime.
On a final note, it does not do a ton to harm the movie but Emilia Clarke's accent seems a little indecisive where it fluctuates from an American accent to her natural accent a bit.
How You Should Watch This Movie
So in the grand scheme of things, while The Pod Generation may not feel like it has a ton to say, there is still plenty of good in the movie to make it worth a trip to the theater. The acting performances are pretty strong and the design aesthetic for what the 23rd Century version of the world looks like is interesting. That said, there is some nuance to the movie where a distraction-free environment would benefit, however there isn't anything here to elevate it to some of the great modern science fiction films like Arrival or Swan Song.
★★★★
