Rent Ex_Machina (2014)

Robot Love - Ex_Machina review by PT

Not being a huge sci fi fan I surprisingly really enjoyed this movie. Great performances from the 3 main protagonists, clever script, and a wonderful directorial debut.

For me it was a question of, could you become emotionally involved with a robot? With AI this advanced, encased in the beautiful feminine body of Ava, I could totally believe that logic would be cancelled out by emotion and sexual attraction. So for me the answer was a resounding yes. Very good movie.

A glimpse of a possible future - Ex_Machina review by DR

With AI expected to take on growing importance, I decided to view this film.

I had found Alex Garland's novels more suited to an under-35 age group.

This however, is a serious film, with an unfolding narrative.

Anthropomorphic robots are what this is about, their possible thoughts, their possible motives, their possible pretexts, their possible ethics, their possible superiority to flawed human masters.

To what extent are female emotions merely calculation? One might well ask in a general context.

The ending of the film is not the ending of events. Anthropomorphic robots like these will need to socialize with each other.

Pretty robot for once. - Ex_Machina review by NC

Nice to see something a little different, with a budget, and some new faces, although a couple may ring bells. Bren Gleeson's lad up the front........

Lot of work for someone to do on their own in middle of nowhere!

A robot woman you say, a certain group of men were going to be very, very disappointed. - Ex_Machina review by Strovey

Caleb works for the biggest Internet company in the world, one morning he receives a message telling him he has won a company competition to spend a week with the companies CEO, Nathan, in his isolated private home. When Caleb arrives on his ‘adventure of a lifetime’ he finds it not the expected holiday to hang out with and pick the brains of one of the world’s leading geniuses but in fact he has to take part in a ‘working’ experiment as Nathan, wants him to interact and study his most exciting project. An apparently fully autonomous robot which is for all intents and purposes a beautiful young woman.

Alex Garland is no stranger to writing interesting and different stories but this is his first dip in the waters of directing a film. He jumped in fully clothed and swam with utter confidence in those waters too. Make no mistake this is science-fiction for grown-ups. Whilst the special effects are up on the screen, there is a robot, there is a mystery, this film asks many questions once we get to Nathans ‘fortress of solitude’ but like good stories it doesn’t lead you by the nose and it doesn’t provide you with answers. Those are for you to make up for yourself. Therefore Ex Machina has as many endings and motivations to the tale as you want.

Certainly, we are here in the territory of Blade Runner, Channel 4’s Humans and the newest video game Detroit: Become Human among a few that come to mind. In all honesty, it is a topic, subject and line of thought that endlessly fascinates me and if it is approached with some skill and thought then I’m in. I’m biased. So it stands to reason I was always going to like this film.

Throw into this mix of great ideas a three-handed cast of top young actors with the film-making universe at their feet, Oscar Issac, Domhnall Gleeson, film by film eclipsing his father, and the utterly perfect Alicia Vikander and you have a fantastic prospect before you.

For a film the really does look at some very heavy and philosophical topics the story, running at just over 1 hour and 45 minutes, doesn’t drag and zips along at a pace. As I have said the film is asking nothing new nor will it stop you in your tracks, Phillip K. Dick had been asking these type of questions in his stories nearly fifty years ago so to my mind it is not the question but how it is asked. Ex Machina asks them in such an entertaining way that I was ‘in’ from the start.

The single location, for most of the story, is simple, uncluttered yet semi-futuristic and does not distract, it is the sort of the place you imagine the next centuries Elon Musk would inhabit. The visual effects are sublime with the slight Vikander looking as much like an advanced robot as you could wish. It may sound as if Ex Machina is a solemn, serious and pompous science-fiction film yet the story is infused with a playful sense of humour and yet richly dark vein as well.

Plot holes? Of course there are, this is a film about a robot so advanced you cannot tell if it is a robot or not so they are there. I enjoyed the questions it asked as much as the story. Oh dear I think I’ve said the thing about ‘asking questions’ about three times now.

I highly recommend this film to anyone unless you really are just an action film aficionado and even then give it a go.

Consciousness. What is it?

Intelligent and Brilliant SciFi - Ex_Machina review by GI

Alex Garland is a writer and director that draws your attention. His films are intelligent, enigmatic, enthralling and something quite special. Ex Machina is one of the most interesting of science fiction films of the last decade. A take on the Frankenstein story and one that taps into a theme oft used in science fiction cinema, 'I think therefore I am', the philosophical question that determines the narratives of some of the great films from the genre. From murderous machines in The Terminator series to a classic like as Blade Runner (1982) to AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001) the list is long and distinguished. Ex Machina is a tension building story that positions itself in the world of today and suggests that what you see here could actually be a very real proposition very soon. Young computer programmer Caleb (Domnhall Gleeson) works for an innovative software company owned by the reclusive genius Nathan (Oscar Isaacs). He wins a company lottery to spend a week with Nathan at his retreat and to see first hand Nathan's latest innovation. This turns out to be Ava (Alicia Vikander), a robot with true AI that Caleb is required to test. But Nathan has an agenda that Caleb will soon discover as he becomes more involved with the free thinking Ava. The three main performances are excellent especially Vikander as the robot learning to interact with humans. It's a film that builds an ominous suspenseful story, all the while making you think and question as the story unfolds. It's a remarkable film and one destined to be deemed a classic of the genre. A film you must see and see again.

Quite simple but, intriguing story with excellent effects and gorgeous setting. - Ex_Machina review by Bullitt 68

Enjoyable and beautiful film made with three excellent actors and a relatively small budget.

Another twist on the A.I. theme. I own this Blu-ray and look forward to watching it again soon.

Sci-fi with a difference - Ex_Machina review by TB

The difference being that this could so easily be comprehensible in years to come with our dangerous obsession with the misuse of technology. A slow moving but engaging thriller, that keeps you guessing at the outcome right up until the end.