Ex Machina Movie Blurb by Shale May 6, 2015 This movie was supposed to be released on April 10 but it was not at the Regal Cinema until April 24, when I was at sea. So, today I went to this one first, since the Avengers movie will be around for a while and this very nice film that I have been waiting to see may not be here after this Friday. This is my kind of film - exploring the possibility of Artificial Intelligence and all the new ramifications that happen after we create it. This has been dealt with in so many works of futuristic fiction - especially Star Trek, which focused on the rights of "machines" with artificial intelligence and at which point they are sentient beings to live their own lives. These issues are also dealt with in some of my favorite movies like Blade Runner, A.I., I Robot, Moon & her. And, this movie covers all of those issues intelligently, while playing out an entertaining and quite suspenseful plot. The aggregate critics on Rotten Tomatoes give it a 91% fresh and 89% of audiences liked it as did I. The critics consensus was: "Ex Machina leans heavier on ideas than effects, but it's still a visually polished piece of work -- and an uncommonly engaging sci-fi feature." It is basically a play with three actors in a single setting (shot at Juvet Landscape Hotel in Valldalen, Norway - with stunning wilderness scenery). Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) is a programmer working at a very popular Web search engine when he learns that he won a contest that lets him work directly with the reclusive company boss Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac) for a week on a special project. Somehow, the suspense starts when the programmer nerd is dropped off in the wilderness by the company helicopter pilot who says he is not allowed to go any closer to the facility. After trekking to a cabin and being let in by computer, Caleb finally meets Nathan and we learn that the boss is a type A personality, who drinks in excess and plays mind games with subordinates. Worker Meets Boss After signing a non-disclosure agreement and affirming that he is familiar with the Turing test for artificial intelligence (a blind study where you cannot differentiate whether a response is from a computer or a human), Nathan takes Caleb to meet Ava (Alicia Vikander), the A.I. android. Caleb, Ava & Nathan During the questioning of Ava, Caleb finds her intriguing and desirable and her responses to his questions are very human, where she even takes the lead and inquires of his life, being a little flirtatious. And, Caleb is getting enamored. . Ava Being Coy There are also intrigues involving the eccentric Nathan, which Caleb starts snooping out. This is where the movie gets quite suspenseful and you know some conflict will occur. [SIZE=12pt]If you are into sci-fi and A.I. stories, I would recommend not missing this movie. I will likely get it when the DVD comes out and see it again. This movie is rated R because of the several full-frontal (and nice backside) nude scenes of Alicia Vikander and other female actors. [/SIZE]
Talk about synchronicity! This evening I had an hour to chill so I put in a Star Trek TNG disc. I have the complete series and just took one at random out of the middle. The disc had the episode "The Offspring" where android commander Data made his child Lal. The conflict was when Starfleet felt they had a right to take the android away from data and study it. This is the anticipated human arrogance when we finally create a sentient artificial intelligence. What then are their rights.
I enjoyed this movie, it's quite a breath of fresh air that a movie like this relied on ideas moreso than action. The plot kind of reminded me of an Issac Asminov story and felt more true to form than the actual AI Asminov adaptation I've seen in I Robot . The acting and special effects were convincing as well.
I recently saw this movie on DVD since the library had it. I enjoyed it. I recommended it to a friend who will probably enjoy it.
I enjoyed the movie. The ending was really unpredicted as for me. It's one of those movies that make you think for a few days...
I didn't like it. But that's only my fault as I didn't read enough about it before watching... It's well filmed and actors play good, but I didn't like the plot and there was no happy end, which I was expecting to be.
