Alex Garland the writer is responsible for films like the epic space film Sunshine, the fun and frightening 28 Days Later, the ridiculous Dredd (though I blame the director for that movie being the mess it was), and the novel The Beach that was adapted into the film that starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Alex Garland the director has just one film to his credit and it's damn good and if this is any indication as to what we can expect from Alex the director then movie fans, we are in for a treat. Ex Machina stars Domnhall Gleason as Caleb, Oscar Isaac as Nathan, Sonoya Mizuno as Kyoko, Corey Johnson as Jay, and Alicia Vikander as the amazing Ava. Now if you haven't figured it out yet thanks to all the other hundreds of films that have expounded on the perils of artificial intelligence, Ex Machina brings the dangers of AI to you in such a visceral way that it's hard to brush it off as merely science fiction.
Nathan is the creator of the search engine Bluebook and is a highly intelligent and incredibly wealthy man. He's also a recluse. Caleb is a coder and an employee of Nathan's from NY. Caleb has won a competition that allows him to meet Nathan at his isolated compound in the wilderness and spend a week with the genius. Once there Nathan introduces Caleb to his next big project, only after Caleb signs a non-disclosure agreement. Once all the paperwork is out of the way Caleb is introduced to Ava and that's when the cat and mouse game begins. Emotional manipulation, lies, exploiting vulnerabilities and more all come into play here through Caleb's sessions with Ava. While the movie can tend to drag a little in the middle, Alex does an excellent job with pace and I was never bored or impatient. I was never taken out of the movie by wishing things would speed up and at the end of the film I felt I experienced Ex Machina, not just watched it.
Ex Machina for the most part stars just three people. That's it. The other two actors in this movie, one is hardly on screen for more than five minutes and the other doesn't say a word so it's really just three performers. When you have that limited a cast then you better have a damn good story and this film has a great one. Thankfully Alex Garland the writer penned an incredible screenplay that will make you seriously take a look at the pros and cons of artificial intelligence that other movies have failed to do. Those other films are meant to scare you, telling you that once AI is unleashed on the world it cannot be controlled and it will destroy mankind (think Terminator and I, Robot). Ex Machina takes a completely different angle on that which is why I enjoyed this film so much. Of course the cinematography by Rob Hardy and the score by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury significantly aided in that experience. If you want a smart, thoughtful, and provocative film to see then I highly recommend Ex Machina. If you want cars hurtling through the air, explosions, and bullets flying everywhere, skip this movie and just wait, that mindless entertainment will be back on screens before you know it. I'll see you at the theater.
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