An action-packed slog

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The first episode was fantastic, it's the hook that gets you to watch the other two which aren't as strong. The first episode answers a lot of questions people have wondered about space and our own humanity- this show goes about it in a very good way similar to the book. In parts 2 and 3 you can start to feel the stretching of the story as some plot lines and arcs could have been deleted. Overall the message is what is key and the overall feeling of watching the series can, for some be very uneasy.

I am a pretty avid reader, so when I read a book, it is nearly impossible, when it is adapted to film, to separate the two and to not compare. The book, in all cases, has been, will always be, better then what can be reproduced on film. Even if it is followed exactly.I did not read the book before I saw Childhoods end. So I review this film strictly as a film. I have seen enough reproductions now that I believe I would always, if I had the choice, rather see the screen version first. Then the book. Rather then the other way around.I have always been fascinated by the science vs. spirituality debate and essentially that is what this film is contemplating.The choreography and camera use was excellently done, with many creative uses. The script/screenplay was just cerebral enough to add credibility but not confound even the simplest watcher. For a sci-fi the special effects were minimally used or needed, but was sufficiently applied realistically, but was also kept simple and effective.The pace applied a nice slow burn, with twists and turns to keep the audience interested and surprised.The acting was well done, the characters full and evoked emotions.Although it may offend people who are wanting this film to represent the book, I can appreciate the film, for just what it presented. Which was good entertainment and enjoyment of the journey it took me on and a contemplation of an age old question.

A good effort, but there are so many faulty premises. First of all, if the overlords were intent on eventually destroying mankind why did they waste time "making the world perfect" for them?. Second, why was the Earth itself destroyed-- There was nothing to blame the Earth itself for mankind's failure, right? Why didn't they simply kill off the older (in their view contaminated) generation? What they did is like arresting the DWI driver and impounding and scrapping the Lamborghini he was driving.

...transformed into a mind numbing series of epic proportions!What a mess, what a train wreck of a TV series!To start with, Clarke's book is one of those overrated books. I never understood why so much fuss about it. The book starts with a bang and then fizzles slowly up to one of the most anti-climatic endings in Scifi history, it is meandering story with some stupid things thrown into the story (e.g. the Ouija board).The series, on the other hand is simply tedious, boring with as little scifi as possible. It is too talky, too focused on interpersonal relationships, on the "human side" of things and all that usual blablabla about uninteresting humans and their uninteresting lives.Watching it is the equivalent of a very very heavy Thanksgiving meal followed by your Uncle Bob and the slide show of his latest vacation in Cleveland, Ohio.One episode of Childhood's End is a perfect cure for insomnia, three of them is a life-threatening central nervous system depressant.