Ex-Machina Review
- Director: Alex Garland
- Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac
- Released: April 10, 2015
- Rated: R
- Runtime: 108 min
The Verdict
- Alicia Vikander is amazing as Ava, showing a huge range as a robot learning to be human. It’s visually stunning and full of twists that keep you guessing until the end.
- Some of Nathan’s choices don’t add up for someone so controlling. A few security details, like the key cards, don’t make much sense.
Synopsis
Full Review (Spoilers)
Ex-Machina is visually appealing and will have you guessing until the very end. It brings a unique style to the thriller genre. Ava steals the show with her brilliance. Make sure to bring your thriller lover friends!
The Good
Alicia Vikander is amazing as the A.I. named Ava. It’s really hard to portray yourself as a robot that’s trying to assimilate herself into human culture. She went from caring to cruel in a very short time. Hats off to Alicia for showing a great range of emotion. It made her character enjoyable.
There are plenty of twists. The main twist about the hidden remote camera was sort of shocking. You had a feeling that Nathan knew about the plan but you’re unsure. It was a great reveal. All during the movie you would think Nathan didn’t catch on.
Visually this movie was great. A lot of the scenes popped on the screen. The shot of the entrance way looked like it was shot with a wide lens camera. I might as well add in the look of the A.I. systems to this good point as well. Each one of them looked amazing.
The Bad
Nathan sucks as a programmer and a controller. He failed to notice the change in his security code at the very end. You would think since he records everything he could go back and watch everything. He caught Caleb on his initial plan but failed to follow through properly. This was the major downside to the movie.
The actions of Kyoko kind of confused me a bit. She could have killed Nathan at any point during the movie but only waited until the end. If she had the capacity to kill and run away then I would think she could have done it earlier.
The key cards made no sense at all. Caleb had access to almost every door in the building. If he wasn’t supposed to be in a room then just lock it. Nathan’s explanation made sense but when executed it just fell short.
Ex-Machina (2015) Cast and Details
Ex-Machina (2015) is directed by Alex Garland and stars Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac. It runs 108 minutes and is rated R. You can look up the full cast and crew on IMDb. You might also like my Avengers: Age of Ultron review.
DC's Hypothetical Corner
Let’s say I change one thing. Maybe that one thing will make this movie better or more watchable.
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