The Johnny Depp flop from six weeks ago that nobody much liked, but maybe they should have. [Question mark]
What Works: It’s not easy to make a thriller about the Singularity (when artificially intelligent machines vastly surpass human intelligence and perhaps even merge with human consciousness to create beings that can never die), so points for trying. And there are a few more ideas than you might expect from this movie, given the unimaginative trailer. It’s much less successful as a thriller—-more about that later—-than as a film genuinely interested in what hyper-intelligent software can do. The wonder of Science carries the day and makes this film worth watching…when it comes on cable for free.
What Doesn’t: I actually hated the “good guys” who are mostly just ignorant about what A.I. can do. This is one film where the “villain” is actually the good guy and most interesting character in the film, the bad part is that he/it is the only interesting thing in the film. It’s a frustrating dynamic, and there’s a profound sense of disappointment in what the good guys are trying to do and the film’s insistence that we root for them to do it.
What I Would Have Done Differently: So few people even saw this movie, why kick it when it’s down? Also, I don’t want to give anyone one more excuse not to watch this.