Transparency is our downfall

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2017)

Artificial Intelligence is a cliché waiting for a plot. And true to form, Ex Machina eschews the clichés' in a hovering fashion, much like a cloud of thick smoldering crowd above a basement poker table. The thought process is a character herein should not be discounted as simply expected. All of the allusions to previous books, quotes and mythology are unearthed in constant bravado, playing down to those like me who are not as familiar, but that end result comes across as admitted plagiary. What we have here is a Stanley Kubrick-esque tension that is both magnetic and terrifying. Our leads all play their part well, but Oscar Isaacs' puppeteering is not just stereotypical, but boyishly charming and honest. There is considerable frontal nudity that reminds you of the prolific use of pornography on the internet, proving that man continues to spiral down due to the lowest forms while the AI aspires to be human, but in the end, we are all a bit transparent in who we are, pun intended.