Fahrenheit 451

HBO has created some of the most amazing television moments ever. Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo in the gladiatorial arena in Rome. The final montage of aging and death from Six Feet Under. Christopher and Paulie lost in New Jersey woods in the Sopranos. Daenerys Targaryen leading a dragon/Dothraki attack on the armies of the Lannisters in Game Of Thrones. Even smaller, quieter moments like Jewel and Doc Cochrane having a dance in Deadwood. Moments that will bury themselves in your head and never leave. Moments that show why HBO are the best in the business. 

Fahrenheit 451 (the temperature at which paper burns) has no moments like this. Nothing even comes close. 

Guy Montag (Michael B.Jordan) is a fireman. He doesn't put out fires though, he starts them and the written word is his fuel. America has taken a dark turn into a totalitarian society and books are banned because the ideas within them could cause individual thinking and stir up unrest. Guy and his co-workers are unthinking automotons who destroy on command. Until one day he meets someone who sets his mind on a different path.

I wanted to like this. The book it's adapted from is a brilliant and intelligent piece of literature written at a time when book burning and censorship were very real threats. Nazi book burnings had only happened 20 years previously and the suppression of the McCarthy era witch hunts were still hanging around. Ray Bradbury's novel latches onto these real fears in a gripping way. This film adaption starts well and builds a futuristic world that tbh, isn't too far off our own one, a scarily realistic future. It taps into the alienation felt by generations raised in an information age and who have had their ideas and thought processes moulded by constant exposure to social media, reality tv and a non stop barrage of rolling news. It also riffs on our very real fears of being constantly spied on by technology and the threat of censorship from the powers that be. It's a very timely film but one disappointedly crushed by dull pacing, boring design and an awful ending.

This story shouldn't be boring. It should be gripping and filled with dread. Instead it's just dull. It's always a bad sign when you have to fight the urge to reach for your phone during something. It's filled with ideas that are never explained and it only touches on the hierarchy of control that runs this world. If you've read the book you'll be ok but to the uninitiated viewer there's too much left unexplained. It's not a nice looking film either. I know a dystopian future wouldn't be all sweetness and light but constant gloom and darkness doesn't exactly keep you glued to the screen. It's odd when you find yourself looking forward to the flashes of fire that only serve to destroy. Then there's the ending. That horrible generic ending. Wedged in to give the trailer some action shots. You'll actually cringe.

There is some good in here though. A fleeting mention of the book Native Son is a knowing nod towards this story and how people are shaped by outside influences. Michael B. Jordan gives a muscular performance and does well in giving us a hero we can kind of root for. Michael Shannon does his usual Michael Shannon bad guy thing and that's always worth watching (nice nod to Gary Busey in Lethal Weapon btw) and the world building I mentioned earlier is pretty great too. It's a world that might have benefited from being made into a miniseries instead of a 100 minute film though. Had it's ideas been better explained and had room to breathe it would have been far more satisfying. Fine actors like Martin Donovan and Khandi Alexander play interesting characters who only make fleeting appearances. It's a pity. Oh one more upside. That final shot. Beautiful. It's just not enough though.

Don't bother with this. The 1966 film adaption had it's flaws too but it's far superior to this. Actually just read the book instead. Ahhh lovely books. Books rock.