While the science was sometimes in question and some of the ideas were a little ... off, generally, I liked the movie. In fact, there were several parts that I thought were excellent. My existential angst is from the opening situation that the characters in the movie face and one of the main questions that the movie raises. In the movie, our world is becoming unlivable and explorers are sent out to save the human race. One of the solutions (known in the movie as "Plan B") is to restart the human population using specifically chosen frozen embryos to colonize another world. Even though humanity on Earth would die out, humanity itself would continue.
While Plan B brings to mind questions about our purpose for existing as a species, and that never leads me down pleasant thought paths, it's the idea of the unlivable Earth that really haunts me. More so, in this story, the Earth is becoming unlivable through a blight whose origin is not completely explained, but is due to our (America's in particular) current mass consumerism. In the story, our current way of life destroys our future.
This is not a new idea and in so many ways this seems to be true. Climate change (I can use those terms since I'm not a member of the Florida or Wisconsin government), global warming, famines, extreme droughts, profit-motivated businesses, and other elements all seem to lead to the destruction of our ability to live on this world. I know that in many ways I am blithely living my life in a way that contributes to this very destruction. Yet even knowing this I don't make changes to avoid this ultimate end.
Part of the reason is that I don't believe that it will be the ultimate end. I have often characterized myself as a cynical optimist: I don't necessarily trust people, but I believe that the world is generally getting better. I know that there are some dangerous paths that we are on. I worry about the massive corporate farms and food factories, the destruction and pollution of so much of our environment, the lack of sympathy and assistance with the downtrodden, the exponentially growing economic gap between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else, and our constant push for more material goods. Yet I believe that life is improving for most people, that technology is solving more problems than it creates, and that humanity is making greater strides to eliminate intolerance and promote forgiveness (we still have a ways to go).
Truly, writing this out has substantially lightened the haze that has clouded my view of the world these past few days. I am still worried about the problems that our world faces, but I also believe that we can rise to overcome them.