Alex Garner's Ex_Machina was released on January 21st 2015, starring the talents of Domnhall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander. The film also boasts the production pair of Alex MacDonald and Allon Reich, previously working together on Dredd, 28 Weeks Later and Never Let Me Go. The film follows Caleb (Domnhall Gleeson) as he wins a competition to spend a week with the entrepreneur, and boss of his company, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), that is until he uncovers the real reason for his visit, to perform a Turing Test on the first AI, Ava (Alicia Vikander).
Ex_Machina shows a fantastic amalgamation of the thriller, drama, terrestrial sci-fi and horror genre, with a provocative, claustrophobic and tense story revolving around the creation of an AI and the possible moral implications of this. The horror-like claustrophobia is fantastically built up, with its tiny cast (with three main stars, two supporting cast and a few unnamed appearances), the amazing set design (with many white and silver corridors) and the eerie, gorgeous music. The talent of the cast shines through in this, with Oscar Isaac playing the cocky, paranoid but depressed entrepreneur excellently, especially with his mastery over being able to flip between rage, excitement and sadness so smoothly but quickly. Domnhall Gleeson, whilst not showing the best performance, puts in a good performance as the intelligent but irrational Caleb, making his feelings for Ava seem real. However, without the fantastic acting of Alicia Vikander, who balanced robotic movements with human emotion. The film, despite its low $15 Million budget, demonstrates fantastic special effects with the design of Ava, making it look realistic in a fantastical manner. The film also shows fantastic stylized cinematography, which makes the film a pleasure to watch.
The story is expertly crafted, with mystery and twists woven through it, with Caleb's indecision of whether to trust Nathan or Ava along the watcher to be engaged in the plot more deeply. It also raises many moral questions of whether an AI would have the same rights as a human as well as a god vs creation theme running through. These moral elements were great additions and, unlike other provocative films, really discretely placed, so not to feel too forced. However, despite this, there are a few plot holes and continuity errors, most notably being Corey Johnson's helicopter pilot taking Ava away, no questions asked, as well as Ava taking skin, which is considerably different in skin tone, and it looking seamless on her. Yet, these plot holes are not hard to overlook. The ending is a special one, coming unexpectedly, mixing hope with despair to show the fates of the future for the characters in another moral dilema of if these new robots will replace us.
Overall, the film is amazing, with a great cast, fantastic set design, music and effects, as well as an intriguing plot with great messages and morals. Despite a few missteps in the plot, this is almost a flawless movie, which both looks and feels great.
The film gets a strong 9/10.
Ex_Machina shows a fantastic amalgamation of the thriller, drama, terrestrial sci-fi and horror genre, with a provocative, claustrophobic and tense story revolving around the creation of an AI and the possible moral implications of this. The horror-like claustrophobia is fantastically built up, with its tiny cast (with three main stars, two supporting cast and a few unnamed appearances), the amazing set design (with many white and silver corridors) and the eerie, gorgeous music. The talent of the cast shines through in this, with Oscar Isaac playing the cocky, paranoid but depressed entrepreneur excellently, especially with his mastery over being able to flip between rage, excitement and sadness so smoothly but quickly. Domnhall Gleeson, whilst not showing the best performance, puts in a good performance as the intelligent but irrational Caleb, making his feelings for Ava seem real. However, without the fantastic acting of Alicia Vikander, who balanced robotic movements with human emotion. The film, despite its low $15 Million budget, demonstrates fantastic special effects with the design of Ava, making it look realistic in a fantastical manner. The film also shows fantastic stylized cinematography, which makes the film a pleasure to watch.
The story is expertly crafted, with mystery and twists woven through it, with Caleb's indecision of whether to trust Nathan or Ava along the watcher to be engaged in the plot more deeply. It also raises many moral questions of whether an AI would have the same rights as a human as well as a god vs creation theme running through. These moral elements were great additions and, unlike other provocative films, really discretely placed, so not to feel too forced. However, despite this, there are a few plot holes and continuity errors, most notably being Corey Johnson's helicopter pilot taking Ava away, no questions asked, as well as Ava taking skin, which is considerably different in skin tone, and it looking seamless on her. Yet, these plot holes are not hard to overlook. The ending is a special one, coming unexpectedly, mixing hope with despair to show the fates of the future for the characters in another moral dilema of if these new robots will replace us.
Overall, the film is amazing, with a great cast, fantastic set design, music and effects, as well as an intriguing plot with great messages and morals. Despite a few missteps in the plot, this is almost a flawless movie, which both looks and feels great.
The film gets a strong 9/10.
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