Strong Direction and Acting, Weak Story and OST

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2015)

Ex Machina is the first film by writer and director Alex Garland. It stars Domhnall Gleeson as a man who is tasked by a scientist played by Oscar Isaac to watch over a robot played by Alicia Vikander to see if she is really AI or not.
The strongest point in the film is the acting. There's very few characters in the film and the setting is very claustrophobic. This puts the focus of the film on tight discussions made by the small cast. Tension is high and only increases as the film goes on. Oscar Isaac is excellent as the scientist Nathan. His character is very interesting and has lots of nuances. Alicia Vikander is pitch perfect as the android Ava and she is a very unique cinema robot. Domhnall Gleeson, whom I like as an actor, was only serviceable in the film. This is more the script's fault than his performance. He is not given much to do despite being the protagonist and he starts to behave out of character towards the end.
The direction is mesmerizing and makes even the sluggish parts of the film enthralling. It is shocking to me that this is Garland's first film. He shows lots of potential. Unfortunately, the script isn't strong enough to support the excellent cinematography and visuals. It builds tension up until the finale, but rather than pay off the finale is just a cliché'd mess. Characters behave irrationally, a small little decision is acted without any rational thought put into it, and the ending itself was extremely predictable. The score is also mediocre and is more of that trend in indie films where they think quiet ambiance = a film score.
There isn't much else to say about Ex Machina. It's a beautifully looking movie and the acting makes it as interesting as it can be given the flawed and uninspired script. I can say it is leagues better than Chappie at least. However, it doesn't bring any new and fresh ideas or themes to the genre, making it a pretty forgettable foray into the AI subgenre of science fiction.