A rather rambling story hitting all the obligatory sex, gunfight, sob-story, naked in the shower and deathbed scenes. Unfortunately, little of that tells the story of soylent green and what it is or how it came to be. I feel there is a really great story here somewhere but it never got told. The abrupt ending with the bloody hand outstretched in the air in some sort of power gesture was supposed to be a symbol of the destitute never giving up the fight. But to me it just seemed forced and not very convincing. Although this movie is worth watching for Edward G. Robinson's performance alone, don't expect to be in suspense over the plot.

Its odd watching this movie since you know what's going on before the protaganist, but despite the lack of suspense I still thought it was excellent and kept waiting for someone to say those immortal words.

Soylent Green has one of the best-known twist endings in film history, so... does that lessen its power? I don't think so, because while everyone remembers the punch line, there's a lot more to this dystopian flick. There's a lot of world-building, for example, and I especially appreciated how the over-population was presented, going so far as to stage a fight right on top of people. The have-nots are huddling together on staircases, the middle class might be sharing cramped apartments, and the rich, well, the rich have so much space they can hire "furniture", companions who see to their every need, from the throng of people who just want to get out of the crowd. Edward G. Robinson, in his 101st and final role is touching as an old man who remembers the world as it was, and the film doesn't get any better than the scene where he shares a meal with Charlton Heston who's been raised on energy crackers. And there's a strong exploitation vibe coming from the cop story, from the grisly murder to the corrupt cops to the live-in prostitutes lounging around (including Leigh Taylor-Young looking like Lauren Ambrose 1.0 to me). I quite like the aesthetic and how it was adapted to a near-future that thematically hasn't passed its due date yet. So yeah, Soylent Green still has power. We have two years to prepare for it...