Sci-fi at its best

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2016)

Ex Machina is an exploration of a concept, but it does not rely on a gimmick or a twist. Because of the themes explored in the movie, like AI, and what it means to be human, it is not possible to surprise the audience with a big revelation regarding if someone is human or not. The audience will already be asking those kinds of questions about every single character. This movie could have easily gone down a route where it's twist after twist, and I'm thankful that it did not. (I am not spoiling anything here, just saying something about the way the story is presented.) This is a very "current" science fiction film, where most of the technology presented feels plausible - if not now, then soon. This leads to the movie serving a purpose, in addition to being a good story - because it forces you to reflect over certain parts of technological progress (without being a Luddite either). I'm curious as to how well this movie will hold up over time, as we advance into new technology and mentalities.
I like that the movie addresses quite a few of the thoughts one as an audience would have regarding the technology, the situation presented, etc. It does not speak down to the audience, and does not try to hide anything.
The story itself is maybe the movie's weakest point, even though it too is really good. At times, I had a hard time understanding the character motivations, and the interactions between Ava and Caleb didn't feel like "enough" to set of the chain of events that happen. But this is all nit-picking, because over all the story was good, the performances were excellent, the visuals were great (they manage to keep a low budget without showing it and the soundtrack was interesting and fitting.