Ex Machina

A minimalist, visually attuned film, punctuated by LEDs, a polished eco-house in pristine nature, ambient atmosphere and ethereal music. As long as there's philosophising over AI vs human and small but clearly outlined and fairly consistent emotions are brought to the surface, everything is perfectly fine. It's a shame about the stilted finale that doesn’t deliver anything extra, but Garland is good. (22/09/2015)

If Alex Garland put as much effort into elaborating the psychological and symbolic aspects as he did designing the environment and pretending to be witty, this would certainly be a very complex film. Unfortunately, this is something I call hipster sci-fi - a film focused on looking good and giving a strong first impression. As soon as you take his game seriously and start a discussion with him, you will find that he is saying semi-apathetic and nicely formulated phases, whilst pretending to be revelatory. Sure, in front of Pollock, every conversation sounds a little smarter and the female beauty near Klimt hurts even more, but Ex Machina is much better at dancing disco, showing great macho poses by Oscar Isaac and presenting the murderously fragile sex appeal of Alicia Vikander (when she is mass-produced, I will marry her), rather than amazing through the somewhat funny tactile details and mannerist backlights, which importantly tell us that Ex Machina is not just fun history. But it's really nothing more. Joseph Kosinski goes indie, for better or worse. [70%] (29/04/2015)

Clear evidence that electronics labeled smart are a potential threat. That’s why I decided to disconnect my smart washing machine. I'll miss the quiet rustling of my dirty laundry, but what wouldn't a man do for safety. I also unplugged my computer because it was suspiciously overheating while playing this movie, and my monitor because it was flickering suspiciously. I'm glad I caught it so early, no one will make a fool of me! (05/09/2015)

Ex Machina is not a film for everyone. This genre is usually associated with the expectation of a grand spectacle with action elements, whereas this film is an intimate conversation piece, an emotionally charged love triangle, and a clever cat-and-mouse game. Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence is touching, 2001: A Space Odyssey is monumental, I, Robot is action-packed, and Her is melancholic, but Ex Machina is primarily clever. True, the resolution lacks originality and cleverness, but let's face it - if it had those, the film would probably lose its connection with a significant portion of its audience. A film should not be smarter than its viewer, as otherwise, it risks commercial failure. Ex Machina may not be as expensive and epic as American sci-fi films usually are, but for a less affluent European production, it certainly was a big treat. While the sentiment of the acclaimed film Her completely missed the mark for me, I was completely captivated by Ex Machina. It is heading in the right direction, asking exactly the questions that I consider important, and it works on an emotional level as well. Playing god is not worth it, and Ex Machina strongly warns that artificial intelligence is not just a challenge with enormous possibilities, but also (and perhaps especially) an ethical problem and a great risk. Overall impression: 95%. (07/10/2015)

As a matter of fact, the premise is pretty simple and builds on the psychology of two characters and one android. It is nice that films like this one get to be filmed these days, but the more of them there is, the more critical I am towards them and here everything stands and falls by the premise, which is not bad, but it is a base for a rather small-scale film. At least the ending made everything pretty clear. (05/06/2015)