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What is it about the future that scares everyone? Or, rather, what is it about the future that scares the majority of filmmakers in Hollywood? Almost every movie that looks at the future, any sci-fi film of this kind, is a dystopian, grim look at the worst possible scenario. Whether it's the remaining vestiges of the human race getting so fat that they can barely walk or being unable to distinguish humans from humanoid robots, Hollywood movies often paint a dark picture of the future.

The presentation doesn't change with the 1971 science fiction drama THX 1138. You're probably familiar with that title, or at least the first word, THX, as it's the name of a famous sound system that often signifies the beginning of a movie and the end of your hearing. The system was spearheaded by none other than George Lucas, he of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises. Not many people, though, may realize that before Lucas directed Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, before even American Graffiti, he went behind the camera for THX 1138, his debut picture.

Now, don't worry too much; unlike his 21st century attempts to ruin everything he ever created, Lucas hasn't tampered much with his original creation, with the exception of adding two minutes to a director's cut; since the extended version is only 88 minutes long, I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two versions. I'd also be hard-pressed to tell if the original version is markedly better than the director's cut. Right now, THX 1138 is an interesting-looking movie in search of a good idea. For me, the reason why THX 1138 doesn't work has nothing to do with special-effects tampering or groaningly cheesy lines. No, Lucas just doesn't seem to have a good bead on what he wants to do with his title character.

As THX 1138, Robert Duvall (yes, Robert Duvall) is quite good, but I'm not really sure what he's doing here. This is one of the more unique roles he's ever played, much different than his later work, the movies that typified him as an elder cowboy of the Old West. Here, he's a relatively quiet drone in the world of the future (although the future of the film seems to only be taking place a few years after 1971), working in a nuclear plant by day, and going to his sterile apartment by night. In this future, the majority of humans are drones, living underground, kept docile because of some seriously strong drugs.

THX 1138 lives with a female worker named LUH. For relatively inexplicable reasons (one of the first problems with the whole film), LUH decides to get off her drugs and take THX with her. This is successful, in that THX and LUH consummate their previously platonic relationship with passionate love-making. Unfortunately, one of the many things that the mysterious people who run this underground world ban is...well, sex. Sex is bad, the gravest sin of all in this future, so LUH and THX are taken separately into custody. THX, though he's not particularly sure how, decides to break out of his whitewalled prison and break free to the top, to the real world.

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