A Fantastic Directorial Debut and Equally Fantastic Movie

Rating: 8/10 (15 April 2016)

Ex Machina is Alex Garland's first movie, and it follows two men living in an isolated science lab/house. One of these men, Nathan, is the inventor of a human-like AI. Caleb, on the other hand, is sent there to test the AI, Ava, and decide whether she could pass for a human or not. It's an interesting idea, even if it isn't particularly original. But it's presented in a much different way than you'd expect, and it's very good.
The plot is one that we've seen before, but that doesn't mean that it can't be good. In this case, it makes the plot feel original. It's presented in an amazing way, and everything is just fantastic. I can't really describe it, but it's full of twists and turns that help to keep you on the edge of your seat.
The characters are great. With there only being three important characters throughout the entire movie you'd hope so, though. They're interesting and they feel like pretty real people. Of course, it helps if the actors are good, and these guys are great. Domhnall Gleeson is great as Caleb, Alicia Vikander is also great as Ava, but the star of the show is Oscar Isaac, who delivers an absolutely stellar performance as Nathan. I was already a fan of Oscar Isaac, but this movie just further proves why I love him as an actor so much.
The movie is a great thriller. It took me a while to appreciate how creepy it actually was, but even in the moment of watching it it's pretty creepy. The horror is very subtle throughout, but it's there. It's more the idea that a lot of the story revolves around a robot acting like a human and passing for a human. It's very subtly creepy, especially the ending.
Something that I really liked about the movie is that it wasn't exactly a happy movie. Sometimes when I watch AI movies it's super preachy about how robots are real people and all this stuff, but Ex Machina doesn't do that. The movie's plot is more emotion-driven than morally-driven, if that makes any sense. I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll just have to watch it.
Overall Ex Machina is fantastic. The unoriginal plot is made original, the characters are great, the actors are incredible (especially Oscar Isaac), it's creepy, and it's full of great plot twists. It's easily one of the best movies of 2015, and hopefully I'll be seeing it again. Alex Garland clearly knows what a good movie is, and how to make one. In the end I would certainly recommend this movie.