An allusion to Pink Floyd's Animals.
I've never really been one for big sci-fi action flicks with big special effects, but I really enjoyed Children of Men. The minutes-long single-take action shots were just mind-blowing, and the understated vision of gritty, impoverished London in 2027 was beautifully realised. And featuring King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King" was definitely a great addition to the film.
But right before one of the completely amazing and expensive special effects shots was the most unrealistic, stupid looking ping pong ball I've ever seen (spoilers, and really bad quality video). It was laughable; the lighting was completely different to the atmospheric lighting and I'm sure every person who saw the movie would have picked it up straight away. How can that happen in a movie that has a single-take sequence set in the middle of a gun battle which lasts over three minutes and is completely flawless?
But nit-picks aside it was quite good.
