A "power cuts" driven thriller

Rating: 4/10 (15 August 2016)

Ex Machina is pretty weak.
It's not necessarily bad for a movie to have a basic plot. It's a bit problematic when it's predictable. It's a major failure when this predictable plot uses several times the same unimaginative narrative gimmick to make ways to the story. Here: the "power cuts".
It's not a story about artificial intelligence, it's a "power cuts" driven thriller. Not a Turing test: try imagining the story without these "power cuts".
Visually, Ex Machina has this sleek "designish" appeal but is in fact leaning towards a poor version of contemporary modernism. "Wanna see something cool?", asks Nathan (a muscular Oscar Isaac) before showing his workshop to Caleb (annoying Domhnall Gleeson straight out of a WIRED magazine focus group). "Wanna see something cool?", asks Alex Garland before showing the viewers the house and scenery that serve as the setting for his movie. Too cool to be cool, maybe.
The main scenes involves Caleb and Ava The Robot (Alicia Vikander, pretty and low- key) meeting in a series of "Sessions". After the first Session they're already in a pretty boring routine but... OH, the power cuts!, and the story can go on.
Alex Garland seasons his bland story with a few scenes that serve no real purpose: a dance break that's enjoyable because an android with perfect legs (Sonoya Mizuno) executes cute moves in panties; a turbulent psychotic episode reminiscent of Dany Boyle's style; a fast cut of "deranged" scenes from security cameras.
If the director succeeds at injecting a dose of kinkiness at the end of the movie we remain in very safe territory: a few occurrences of sex dolls in full frontal nudity, including the main actress. What's unforgivable is closing his movie with scenes that resemble a Dior ad.
In terms of cinematography, the film shows no real qualities. It's static but not particularly well framed, color palettes are without contrasts and the close-ups are never striking.
This film has definitely "over-impressed" its audience. With "stylish" architecture, present-day references (Google) for decades-old sci-fi concepts and beautiful faces, Alex Garland actually diverted us like "the magician with his hot assistant".
Years will pass and tell: Ex Machina is a very minor movie and an awkward attempt at making "slick and smart sci-fi".