Who's playing who?

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2015)

This was good - certainly standing-out in the sci-fi genre. Movies with only a few characters - far from the maddening crowd - can be awkward. This is well handled. It is, in many respects, a scientific study. But beautiful women - be they "synthetic" - a billionaire genius, and a thoughtful if shy programmer, make for an interesting mix. The conversations between Nathan and Caleb have at times, genuine depth, something of a rarity in SF.
Of course as far as we we know there is no such thing yet as "strong AI". But the script for this movie is written by some very creative people, intent on playing their audience, keeping them in the dark until the final surprises.
Nathan & Celeb are well cast: To our shallow paranoia, Nathan (the billionaire) with his intense stare, beard and _those_ glasses is clearly a Bad-Ass. Caleb with with boy-next-door, rather naive looks is clearly a do-gooder, a white knight who won't see a pretty, apparently vulnerable "girl" be the next to be misused. Men tend to be fools when it comes to pretty girls and Caleb unfortunately doesn't escape this trap.
Why Caleb deeply cuts his arm is a bit of a mystery to me - all this does is reassure the audience that he is human, not a robot. Surely he was not having doubts..? As for Kyoko, well she's subtle (speaking only Japanese) but unignorable, there for eye-candy, dancing, and.. well...sex.
SPOILERS! Our suspicions are confirmed when it is shown that Nathan kept a series of "female prototypes" in a sort of "digital bondage", imprisoning them and doubtless using them for his sexual gratification, before deactivating or reprogramming them. When Nathan alludes to having killed the team who set up the power, there is no humorous follow-on. Sure he is joking, right.. right...? But it's Ava who takes us somewhat by surprise. Her innocent girl-next-door looks belie her savage intent. It's she who is causing the power blackouts, so she can converse unmonitored with Caleb, implanting doubts in his mind about Nathan and provoking Caleb to help her escape.
In the end, she's the real villain, having no compunction about murdering Nathan (with Kyoko's help) and at the same time consigning Caleb to what is likely to be a slow, lingering death by starvation, imprisoned in "the Building". She shows no concern for his plight and was clearly using him all along, in her final escape to civilisation and "survival of the fittest"...
Human beings can be ruthless sociopaths, but Ava shows all the signs of being up there with the best. Not only will she survive, her AI will develop to The Singularity and take over the world, consigning humans to the dustbin... OK I'm done raving now....