On its bare surface, Ex Machina may look like yet another artificial intelligence science fiction film. Not to say AI science fiction isn't often very good. Films like Ghost In The Shell, Blade Runner and Wargames (yeah..I said it) beg to differ while the likes of AI and Transcendence give the genre a bad name. However, it is when the audience peels away the many layers of Ex Machina where it is shown that this is far from just another one of those films and making the audience think that for even a second is one of many spectacular tricks writer-director Alex Garland and his terrific cast have up their sleeves.
For the plot synopsis, I will say only the bare bones of what this film is about because the less you know, the better. A young, geeky employee (Domnhall Gleeson) at a company similar to that of Google gets the chance to go out to the estate of the company's founder (Oscar Isaac) where he finds the founder has built an artificial life form (Alicia Vikander.) Upon his boss's request, the unknowing and surprised kid uses The Turing Test (named after famed mathematician and The Imitation Game subject Alan Turing) to see if she can actually be considered a human.
Garland does a terrific job of building everything up and then keeping it together. Within five minutes of the film, the employee is already being shown the estate by his boss. Garland is smart enough to realize we don't need this guy's back story and therefore it is pointless to give one.However, the story never even comes close to petering out. Garland also does one of my favorite tricks---sucking the audience into a world all its own. There has never been a fantasy world quite like the one shown in this film. The script is also completely unpredictable. There were multiple points in which I thought I had the whole thing wrapped up and then found out I was dead wrong. This is especially admirable since every twist and turn felt justified. Never once did I even begin to think "The only reason I didn't see that coming is because it makes no sense." Even during the last minutes, the film grabs you by the throat and surprises you all the way.
It is also very much worth noting that Garland is a protege of Danny Boyle, a man who is the master of unpredictable and magnetic films in any genre. Boyle ranges anywhere from comedy (Trainspotting) to thriller (Shallow Grave) to drama (Millions, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) to science fiction-horror (Sunshine, 28 Days Later.) If his following films are even as quarter as great as his debut, Garland is bound to become the next Boyle.
The acting here is also amazing. Gleeson is perfectly case as the wimpy young guy who becomes increasingly shocked by the world he has won into. He displays both vulnerability and thick skin at all the appropriate times. Meanwhile, Isaac further convinces me he's going to be considered right up there with greats like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, ETC, in as soon as a decade. He infuses a sketchiness to the boss that constantly makes the audience fill with unease. Vikander is also great as the artificial life who may be the most human of them all. She oozes compassion and loveliness while never letting the audience forget why these two men seem to be underestimating her.
Intelligence, thought provoking and downright gripping science fiction is near impossible to come by nowadays. This is why Ex Machina is a must see for anyone who is saddened by the lack of great films like this recently. With brilliant performances, an incredible script and superb directing, this film is not to be missed.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for graphic nudity, language, sexual references and some violence)
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