Ex Machina

Clever and sophisticated. Just to its own detriment, not as clever and sophisticated as it seems. Above all, the final fifteen-minute ending gives the impression that they don't know how to go on, so they just make it easier for themselves and incorporate the easiest way out of it in terms of a screenplay. They do not care at all it doesn't fit the previous story line. The Black Mirror anthology often addresses the same themes and asks the same questions, but finds much more interesting, more disturbingly current and not so obvious answers to them. Which does not mean that it is not a nicely intimate, intelligent and, above all, high-quality sci-fi, which is quite rare. Especially in Czech cinemas. PS: And if nothing else, at least the shooting took place at the Norwegian Juvet Landscape Hotel, so it is an impressive example of organic architecture in practice. (29/04/2015)

Or how alcohol and programming could destroy human kind. The fantastic Alicia Vikander in the role of an innocent robot seduces the viewer who then willingly goes along with her game, gazing lovingly into her artificial eyes to the end. Garland works with an amazingly attractive concept and manages to deliver an exceedingly satisfying experience for both sexes. Gleeson is cast brilliantly as the classic nerdy programmer, but the jaunty Isaac (not Asimov) easily outplays him. A philosophical construction genius, drunk as a skunk, copulating till he’s blind, while still thinking straight. + lots of shots of bare bosoms. An unassuming gem amongst robot movies. Catching music. Man is saved by his good deeds. (01/06/2015)

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%. (08/10/2015)

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)

Ex Machina doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking, untraditional or shocking to the table, but the way it gets to its (non-revolutionary) outcome is so convincing that I was enchanted by Garland and I even considered giving him five stars. The script is very smart, it confuses the viewer with a variety of frantic possibilities for the plot to move forward (that they have to figure out together with, Caleb, the protagonist), only to take the less crazy and more logical path. The viewer is basically in the skin of Caleb and the ending feels like a devastating revelation. Whenever I thought that the script was getting stupid, after a couple of minutes it became clear that what was stupid was the behaviour of one of the characters, and the script was very well aware of that stupidity. Ex Machina is sci-fi in the tradition of the best representatives of the film and literary genre. The soundtrack and the design of the interiors and exteriors also deserve special praise. (04/05/2015)