Wearying

Rating: 4/10 (6 December 2017)

EX MACHINA is one of those wearing philosophical science fiction movies all about concept and with barely any plot to bolster that concept. I prefer films the other way around, where interesting issues are explored via a good story. Here, we get two guys and a robot in a house, where the scriptwriter takes plenty of time to explore the subject of artificial intelligence. For any sci-fi fan watching, there are zero surprises here; everything plays out exactly as you'd expect, and it takes ages to get to that point. Oscar Isaac gives a reliable performance but the one-dimensional Domhnall Gleeson is miscast and Alicia Vikander unconvincing. Some decent CGI effects are the only thing this long-winded and slightly pretentious tale has going for it.