Ex Machina: The BRWC Review

film reviews | movies | features | BRWC Ex Machina: The BRWC Review

By Peter Killip.

Having been something of a hot property in the scribe world for a good while and being a gun for hire for discerning genre directors, it was just a matter of time before Alex Garland decided to take the Director’s chair himself. At first glance, there seemed not much more to the idea of the film other than a “What If?” Scenario where Charlie Brooker penned “Blade Runner”, not a gruelling thought but by Christ I’m glad I was wrong.

Running at a lean 108 minutes, there’s no time wasted, not too far removed from a contemporary setting, we’re introduced to Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), an employee at the world’s largest search engine – BlueBook, as he wins a trip to spend a week with the reclusive owner/creator of the company Nathan ( Oscar “I’m in everything these days, no seriously, check it out.” Isaac) at his remote home, hang out with the socially awkward boss and that.



Sounds a bit weird and awkward dunnit? Yeah, tip of the iceberg mate. All of this is foreplay to what is really expected of young Caleb, Nathan has been developing the next step of evolution with a kind of self governing A.I. Over there and requires a fresh pair of eyes to perform a set of tests ( the film is eerily split into “sessions” ) to see if his creation could really pass as consciousness . What follows is some of the most cleverly written themes and dialogue I’ve seen on the big screen in quite some time, a startlingly sure footed debut that has one foot in the big screen science fiction camp and the other firmly in the philosophical .

Plenty of food for thought here, with our going the way of the caveman, what does it mean to be human, what does it mean by “Artificial Intelligence” and plenty of morality/mortality themes vying for contention and a performance as Ava ( Alicia Vikander ) that is smart, tense, affecting and threatens to blow the two male leads out of the water. This is the sign of a disciplined storyteller given reign with his vision, not a single superfluous scene in my mind and hope he’s comfortable in the big seat because I can’t wait to see what he’s got up his sleeve next.


We hope you're enjoying BRWC. You should check us out on our social channels, subscribe to our newsletter, and tell your friends. BRWC is short for battleroyalewithcheese.


Trending on BRWC:

Dune Part 2: The BRWC Review

Dune Part 2: The BRWC Review

By Rosalynn Try-Hane / 28th February 2024 / 2 Comments
Tim Travers & The Time Travelers Paradox: Review

Tim Travers & The Time Travelers Paradox: Review

By BRWC / 19th March 2024
Spaceman: The BRWC Review

Spaceman: The BRWC Review

By BRWC / 5th March 2024 / 1 Comment
Ride Baby Ride: Short Review

Ride Baby Ride: Short Review

By BRWC / 10th March 2024
Dogman Blu-Ray Comp!

ENDED: Dogman Blu-Ray Comp!

By Alton Williams / 10th March 2024

Cool Posts From Around the Web:



Alton loves film. He is founder and Editor In Chief of BRWC.  Some of the films he loves are Rear Window, Superman 2, The Man With The Two Brains, Clockwise, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Trading Places, Stir Crazy and Punch-Drunk Love.

POST A COMMENT

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.