I've had my eye on Clive Owen since he starred in a British detective series called “Second Sight . ” The man is gorgeous in that old-fashioned manly way that's hard to come by in these incessantly boyish days of Brad Pitts and Johnny Depps.

The last time I viewed Mr. Owen in Inside Man , Spike Lee had the audacity to hide his face through most of the film! Suffice to say, I'm always happy to see Clive.

However, I wish I could say that I liked Children of Men better. The story begins in a dystrophic future where women have become infertile. Owen becomes the shepherd to the one woman who miraculously does become pregnant, and a rather biblical tale ensues.

I found both the first half of the movie and the premise exciting and original. But Children of Men loses steam with repetitive and unoriginal chase sequences – one is so plodding it seems to be in slow motion – and an extreme dearth of character development.

Without showing who these people are and why life matters to them, I couldn't feign much enthusiasm myself. I'm embarrassed to say I was laughing at them by the end – Clive or no Clive.

Extras: alternate and deleted scenes, audio commentary, “behind the scenes” and featurettes.

Grade: C