An A.I. researcher uploads his brain as he's dying and creates the first self-aware A.I. presence. His widow and friends wonder though... is it really him, or is the copy dangerously flawed?
Equal parts Brainstorm, Continuum, and Lucy, this movie ended on a
melancholy note that was surprising to me. In the end, all this came about because one (really technologically smart) couple couldn't bear to be apart... even in death.
I enjoyed it. Unlike some films, the science didn't seem completely made up or nonsensical. The characters were real and interesting, and the actors all did a superb job. It's not easy to be a face on a screen that reacts to live people in the room convincingly. And of course Depp is expert at looking sick and half-dead.
During the very beginning, I remember seeing an actress (Kate Mara, House of Cards) in the pastry shop and thinking, "Okay, there's that girl that looks pissed off all the time. Small part. Wonder if that's why she's pissed." Of course it turns out to be relevant to the plot later.
If you are like me and every once in a while want to watch a movie that offers slick, interesting possible future tech, this movie will scratch that itch. But it's not very deep... there's no overwhelming feel of evil or conspiracy. Mostly you just know that eventually something's going to go wrong, and you're just waiting to see how it comes about. The love story between the married Doctors Caster is a sad footnote, not the tragic epic of Shakespeare. It's all very understated. Even the terrorists aren't very loud and dramatic, just driven.
As a result, there are low counts for this movie. One laugh out loud moment when Mrs. Caster requests her hotel reservation under the name Turing. One eyeroll moment for my arch nemesis, the "Fifteen years earlier" title card. One holy crap moment that you need to experience for yourself.
All in all, it's an okay movie to craft to... as long as you don't mind missing chunks of the CGI eye candy or can craft without watching your hands. I gave this movie a four out of five stars. Maybe I'm not a fan of understated... everything, or maybe there were themes I didn't pick up on, but I felt that a little more tension between the married couple after he died (is he or isn't he the real Doctor Caster?) was called for. Instead, she seemed more like one of his hybrids from the beginning, moving from place to place automatically and not really feeling much of anything. Maybe that's the point. Maybe her grief wouldn't let her see him for what he was until it was almost too late.
No comments:
Post a Comment