Well made but uninteresting and predictable

Rating: 7/10 (11 May 2015)

The advancement of artificial intelligence to human levels has been a favorite subject for science fiction writers since the concept was invented, and it's been a popular subject for sci-fi movies for a long time now. Alex Garland's Ex Machina does little new with the subject, and contains very few surprises. Despite being fairly unoriginal, it's still an enjoyable piece of cinema. It survives on looks and the talent in front of the camera. Domhnall Gleeson stars (and is easily the least interesting of the basically four person cast) as a programmer who is selected by internet genius Oscar Isaac to test his new, advanced robot, Ava (Alicia Vikander). She is more than intriguing. She's gorgeous, and, against his better judgement, Gleeson becomes attracted to her as he tests her. Vikander is very convincing as a robot. Sounds like an insult, but her performance is very subtle in the way she emotes. Isaac is fun as always. The fourth person in the cast is Sonoyo Mizuno, who plays Isaac's Japanese servant - not difficult to figure out what her deal is, but I liked whenever she popped up. She and Isaac share a dance that's easily my favorite moment in the film. The movie's production design and cinematography, as well as its score, are all very good. Worth a watch, but I'd recommend waiting for video or streaming.