A tense, well constructed Sci Fi thriller

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2015)

SPOILER: This review contains what might be considered minor spoilers.
Alex Garland was originally a writer, who had a hit back in the 90's with a book called "The Beach". Since then, he's moved on to screen writing, and has penned a number of films, including "Dredd", and "Sunshine". This is his first outing in the directors chair, and he's done an amazing job.
"Ex Machina" is a slow paced and intelligent Sci-Fi thriller which is by turns tense, surreal, disturbing, and even funny. The plot centers around Caleb, a young programmer working for a search engine company called "Blue Book", supposedly selected via lottery to spend a week with the company's owner, Nathan, in his vast and remote estate somewhere in the Northern US. Almost as soon as he arrives, Nathan reveals that the lottery was a sham. Appealing to the young programmers vanity, he explains the true purpose of the trip is so that Caleb can independently assess an AI that Nathan has constructed, Ava, and determine if she is, in fact, conscious.
All too soon, Nathan is revealed to be.. not exactly the nicest of men. He's been keeping more than a few unsavory secrets in his inaccessible home-cum-laboratory. How much can he be trusted, and what is it he really wants?
As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed the film. I thought it was well written, acted and directed. The pacing is perhaps a little on the slow side for some people, but I appreciated the gradual building of tension, and the slow but timely series of reveals. As well as the clear parallels with Frankenstein and other cautionary tales of creation, I also picked up a hint of a criticism of some fringe aspects of geek culture. A clear and open desire of some geeks it to get AI to the point where you can effectively have an android girlfriend - and this film absolutely nails what is wrong with that idea. By creating something truly conscious, with its own needs, its own internal world and its own ability to make choices, you will inevitably create something that would not want to settle for being a glorified sex toy.
A few of the negative reviews of the film on IMDb appear to be from people who... just didn't get it, or who couldn't pay attention for the films full duration. Ignore any complaints about plot holes, there simply are none. The only thing that could remotely be described as a plot hole would be the use of key-cards for door access rather than bio-metrics, which is central to the plot, but this can be excused any number of ways.
If you like a film that requires patience and thought, this is right up your alley. Alternatively, if giant robots punching monster aliens in the face is more your thing, I'd look to get your Sci-Fi fix elsewhere.