Soylent Green is still a movie about the future. Set in 2022, it paints a grim and depressing picture of a dystopian world that hits way too close to home. The movie opens on a montage of the United States' evolution over the years, from pastureland and pioneers, to concrete jungles and riot police. The latter seems less like science fiction and more like the evening news. In every way but it's vernacular and it's visual aesthetic, Soylent Green was ahead of it's time. For every beat that was socially relevant in the 70's, it's probably doubly so now- and that's scary. Nevertheless, it speaks volumes about the longevity of the movie that not only is it still relevant and timely, it's still damn entertaining to boot.
