Rent Archive (2020)

3.1 of 5 from 305 ratings
1h 49min
Rent Archive (aka o) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
2049. A roboticist, George Almore (Theo James) is on the verge of a breakthrough. Stationed at a remote, secret facility, he has been working on a model that is a true, human equivalent android. His latest prototype, J3, is almost complete. Development of J3 has been achieved through two earlier prototypes, J1 and J2. Each prototype is an increasingly advanced version of his wife, Jules (voice of Stacy Martin), who died in a brutal car crash. Driven by love for Jules, George has secretly skewed the focus of his work: developing the robots towards the goal of creating a simulacra of Jules.
As his work approaches its final and riskiest stages, external forces threaten to discover and shutdown his facility while the introduction of the highly advanced J3 collapses the delicate 'family' balance inside the facility.
Actors:
, , , , , , , , Hadisha Sovetova, Imre Csók, Norbert Botszki, Eliza Winter Rothery, Christopher Schubert, Timea Maday Kinga, Ami Masamitsu, Annamária Ha-Mi Berta, , Pamela Johnston, Zsuzsanna Nagy, Aisa Molnár
Directors:
Producers:
Philip Herd, Theo James, Cora Palfrey
Voiced By:
Stacy Martin, Ami Masamitsu
Writers:
Gavin Rothery
Aka:
o
Studio:
Dazzler
Genres:
Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers
Collections:
2021, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time
BBFC:
Release Date:
12/07/2021
Run Time:
109 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour
BBFC:
Release Date:
12/07/2021
Run Time:
109 minutes
Languages:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM Stereo
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B

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Reviews (9) of Archive

Interesting Existential SciFi - Archive review by GI

Spoiler Alert
09/04/2021

Archive is a science fiction film that owes a fair bit to Blade Runner (1982), has similarity in theme and vision to Ex Machina (2014) and has a neat visual homage to Metropolis (1927). It's an entertaining film and has a very unexpected twist that I didn't see coming. The story links two separate future technologies into a paranoid thriller plot that works quite well. Theo James plays George, a genius robotics and AI scientist, who is installed in a remote laboratory deep inside a Japanese forest. Loads of things keep going wrong with the building so he's often distracted by having to conduct repairs. His work is the development of android robotics and he is assisted by his first two prototypes while he builds a much more advanced third. But George is also grieving for his wife recently killed in a car accident and at the laboratory he has an 'Archive' box in which the consciousness of his wife is retained for a limited time. This is a technology run by a sinister corporation who routinely arrive to inspect the box. What they and his own boss don't realise is George is planning to break all the rules by transferring his wife's consciousness into the new android he's developing. Even the new android is against the idea! The support cast of Stacy Martin as the wife and Toby Jones as the Archive boss assist in lifting the film even further. This is an enjoyable look at issues of what is real, and 'I think therefore I am' philosophy wrapped up in a good, solid film that works on several levels. Well worth checking out.

5 out of 5 members found this review helpful.

Very Stylish. Modest, Clever, Tricksy, Enjoyable Sci-Fi Film Set in a virtual Robotic Future - Archive review by PV

Spoiler Alert
19/07/2021

I enjoyed this film. And I adored the absolutely cracking soundtrack - both original score and songs used. That lifts it above most movies for a start.

I am not usually a fan of sci-fi, especially more tricksy, slow post-modern sci-fi movies. I hated MOON - and this film is written and directed by the main actor in that.

However, this film won me over - because it has intelligence and depth. It is not just a CGI-fest though the CGI is impressive, and the landscapes (filmed in Hungary or CGI) are superb and beautiful. The robots give a nod to both METROPOLIS and I though early 1970s film SILENT RUNNING which influenced Pixar's robot sci-fi film WALL-E. The question of what is human and can a robot have feelings predominate.

The unflagged used of flashbacks can confuse a bit though - so you have to pay attention as the timeframe flips back and forth.

Another reviewer says he did not see the plot twist coming - well, I did.. No spoilers but this sort of thing is not new and has been done a lot before in sci-fi films.

The focus is on identity and what it is to be human - an updated version of Frankenstein (the book) maybe? Toby Jones has a bit part but nails it as per usual.

4 stars

1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

Intelligent and involving sci-fi - Archive review by Alphaville

Spoiler Alert
30/07/2021

Despite the spoiler on the DVD sleeve, this is an intriguing sci-fi thriller that really works. Theo James lives in a remote research facility in the woods (beautifully filmed in a snowbound Hungarian landscape), where he builds increasingly human-like robots. He has three, with ages equivalent to 6, 16 and adult. The 16yo is one of the most fascinating AI creations since HAL. Teenagers!

Add to this a number of other interesting ideas, including the title notion of being able to “archive” a consciousness after death and there’s plenty here to keep the mind occupied as well as the eye and ear (a terrific electronic score by Steven Price).

If you’re expecting something as hidebound as Moon (on which Archive director Gavin Rothery was designer), prepare to be startled. This is wonderfully visual sci-fi that bears comparison with Silent Running. Only in the middle section do you begin to wonder if it’s beginning to run out of ideas, but then it winds up again to a brilliant ending that will stay with you.

Avoid tell-tale trailer if possible.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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