Morgan

Plot synopsis:
The opening scene shows Dr. Kathy Grieff (Jennifer Jason Leigh) entering a secured room. She is there to meet with Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy), and the whole thing is seen through surveillance cameras. Kathy sits down to have lunch with Morgan. Morgan looks at her own hands curiously on both sides as Kathy says she couldn't get "them" to let Morgan go outside. Morgan pushes aside everything on the table, jumps over it, and begins to stab Kathy in the eye. Two other doctors enter to intervene and sedate Morgan.Lee Weathers (Kate Mara), a risk management consultant, travels to the facility where the incident took place. She meets Amy Menser (Rose Leslie), Morgan's behaviorist, and Skip Vronsky (Boyd Holbrook), the team's nutritionist. Lee then goes to meet Dr. Simon Ziegler (Toby Jones), who explains to her the creation of Morgan. After two failed experiments, Morgan was a creation of synthetic life that matured at a rapid rate over six months, where she now maintains the appearance of a young woman. Lee is also shown a video of the incident, showing that Morgan has managed to develop emotions as well. She has spent most of her time with Amy, who treats Morgan like a sister.Lee meets Kathy in her room, where she is heavily medicated and wearing a pad over her wound. She blames herself for what happened and says she provoked Morgan into attacking her. Kathy tells Lee that Morgan was once full of joy before she was put back into her room. Morgan was allowed exposure to the outside world at a young age, which the others think was a mistake. As Kathy refers to Morgan by female pronouns, Lee says that Morgan should be referred to as "it".Lee is brought in to meet Morgan personally. She is kept outside of Morgan's room for protection. Morgan already knows who Lee is and appears polite, but also highly intelligent. Afterwards, Ziegler asks Lee if she's impressed. Lee looks pretty unimpressed, which appears to displease Ziegler.That night, Lee joins the team for dinner and meets others such as Drs. Darren and Brenda Finch (Chris Sullivan and Vinette Robinson), Ted Brenner (Michael Yare), and Dr. Lui Cheng (Michelle Yeoh), whom Lee regards highly and whom Morgan considers to be her "mother". Later on, Lee is outside talking to Skip, who's had a bit to drink. Amy overhears their conversation, where Skip tells Lee that he and Amy had a fling before realizing he wasn't her type. He makes a move by kissing Lee, but then apologizes for it afterwards. Amy walks away to Morgan's cell to spend time with her after turning off the cameras.We see a flashback of Amy taking Morgan out into the woods for fresh air. Amy tells Morgan about trees and how some live to be thousands of years old. The two then see a deer that's been impaled in the side. Morgan breaks its neck out of mercy.The next day, Morgan is set for a psych analysis by Dr. Alan Shapiro (Paul Giamatti). Shapiro is supposed to sit outside of Morgan's room, but he finds that pointless and decides to go inside. He starts to talk to Morgan calmly before going off and yelling at her, asking her how she would react if she told the doctors to put her back in the box and never let her out, or if she should be terminated. Morgan sheds tears and says she doesn't know what to do. She looks at her hands on both sides until she reaches her breaking point. Morgan pushes Shapiro against the wall and lunges at him, biting hard into his throat and ripping a chunk out. The doctors try to go in and sedate Morgan, but she escapes. Lee grabs a tranquilizer and follows her outside. Morgan gets outside but only finds Amy, who sees her face caked in blood, right before Lee hits her with a dart.Morgan is strapped to a table to be terminated. She tearfully pleads with the doctors to not go through with it, even calling Dr. Cheng "Mother". She coldly responds that she is not Morgan's mother. Morgan is sedated and she passes out. Darren gets a needle ready to give her a lethal injection, but he refuses to go through with it. Cheng leaves the room and wipes away a tear. Lee decides to do it herself. She enters the room, but Ted tries to stop her. Lee hits Ted in the face repeatedly and nearly shoots him with a pistol, but she gets hit with a dart herself.Darren, Ted, and Brenda try to get Morgan out of there. Darren tries carrying her as she's out, but Morgan wakes up and headbutts Darren in the face. She grabs the needle he would have injected her with and sticks it in his chest, killing him. Morgan then grabs the pistol and shoots Ted once, which Lee sees as she wakes up. Morgan then shoots Ted in the head before retreating and leaving Lee locked in her room.Morgan goes into Kathy's room and kicks her in the face until she snaps her neck. She also kills Zielger by hanging him. Morgan then makes her way into Cheng's room as she finishes making a video confession. Morgan suffocates Cheng to death.Brenda gets Amy and tries to make a run for it. Morgan appears with the gun and aims it at Brenda. Brenda punches Morgan in the face and fights her, but Morgan overpowers her and proceeds to beat Brenda to death.Lee breaks out of the room by climbing to the top and smashing the glass. She meets up with Skip, who tells her not to follow Morgan. Lee gets in her car and chases after Morgan and Amy as they drive away, knowing where they're headed. Lee chases them though the woods, but Morgan causes Lee to crash into a tree. Skip drives up and drives Lee to find them.Lee takes Skip's rifle and tries to kill Morgan herself. Morgan catches up to Lee and fights her in the woods. After getting a few good punches and kicks in, Morgan pushes Lee to the ground where she gets impaled by a root. Morgan leaves her and rejoins Amy by the lake, which she is in awe of. Lee shows up after pulling herself out, and she pushes Morgan into the lake. Lee then holds Morgan underwater until she drowns. Lee gets out of the water and then shoots Amy with the pistol. She gets back to Skip and kills him too.The company's head, Jim Bryce (Brian Cox), declares the Morgan project a failure. His associate asks, "What about Lee Weathers?" Bryce replies, "What about her? She's perfect."The last shot is of Lee looking at her hands on both sides...JUST LIKE MORGAN!

Tags: revenge, suspenseful, murder, violence, flashback

Review:
Lee Weathers shadows the scientists to see how they work with Morgan and her responses in preparation for the real psychic-evaluation the next day.I felt the story to be compelling with some minor plot holes that I chose to ignore as the overall experience was worth it.
The movie is set at a slower pace so don't expect a lot of action or real horror elements which were kind of advertised.The movie features Anya Taylor-Joy as Morgan who really owns the role.
Kate Mara also shines as the lead character which is nice to see after the fail of a movie that was the Fantastic Four.I would rate this a little higher if it were more original but sadly it is too much of a reminder of Blade Runner, and more recently Ex Machina.
I just feel like there was much more potential there to really dig into the philosophical issues and ethical debates of creating a genetic hybrid.I had a chance to speak to director Luke Scott after seeing Morgan, and we dove into those issues a bit further.
Those are all great questions to explore, but Morgan really just scratches the surface of them.I asked Luke Scott what's next on his horizon, and he let me know he's working on a project that also comes with a moral and ethical dilemma, but this one is based on a true story.
Directed by Ridley's son, Luke Scott, you wonder if the apple doesn't fall far from the tree or the talent gets passed down trough genes, well, don't expect MORGAN to be on the same level as Ridley's "Alien," that's for sure, but again, a decent attempt is what it is, the closest to a compliment I can give the film at this point.Kate Mara plays a corporate risk management officer, a troubleshooter, and she's sent to a top secret location to investigate and evaluate a recent accident, she's supposed to be there to find out what went wrong and judge the asset in terms of the overall profit.
At this top secret location, scientists have successfully created what is perceived to be the perfect human (Anya Taylor-Joy) but turns out, she comes with her own set of unpredictable threats.What I can appreciate about MORGAN is that it takes familiar concepts from the world of science fiction and makes it its own.
With its ensemble cast and its emphasis on keeping you guessing till the very end while wowing you with fight sequences and a big reveal, MORGAN is just the right dose of horror/sci-fi/thriller for us fans of such films as 1997's "Cube" or "Event Horizon" -- Rama's Screen --.
Morgan, superbly played by Anya Taylor-Joy is housed in a confined facility in the middle of nowhere where she's raised by a group of scientists responsible for differences areas of her development like Behavioural Analyst, Amy played by GoT's Rose Leslie and an unrecognisable Boyd Holbrook who's the nutritionist or chef.
The worst possible example is a scene that goes on forever of this "pompous arrogant doctor"(the one note cliché could have been written by a new born) arguing with the doctors that he "Needs" to be face to face with Morgan instead of behind glass to properly evaluate if she should be put down post rampage, despite being warned over and over that SHE IS A WEAPON THAT JUST TRIED TO KILL SOMEONE.You know how you're in a theater and you'll hear some moron yell at the screen "OMG Don't GO IN THERE"?Thatll be you, constantly, every 5 minutes, through the entire movie.Seriously just avoid this one..
Most of the A-List Star Casting seem to Show Up as a Favor for Ridley Scott to Help His Son Luke in His Directorial Debut.Because Toby Jones, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Brian Cox all have Screen Time that Amounts to Nothing More than an Extended Cameo.The Story of an Artificially Created Clone/Humanoid/Robot has become so Familiar as to barely Rate a Blip on Our "Species" Radar.
Unfortunately there's an incident that leaves one of her handlers without an eye, so the business that funds the research and development send in their "Risk Management Consultant" to evaluate the situation and ensure any necessary measures are enacted.The film spends a little time developing it's characters and the situation, but the second and third acts are almost indistinguishable as it cascades at break-neck speed to it's conclusion, giving the film a feeling of being rushed along.
I don't want to start avoiding trailers for movies, because I still think they're the best judge of a movie's potential, and I tend to treat them with a grain of salt anyway due to how they can be misrepresented, but Morgan makes me rethink that stance.That said, there are still a number of surprises in store, not least the big twist at the end.
The obvious star of the movie is Anya Taylor-Joy who manages to balance the emotional innocence of Morgan with her somewhat artificial nature without over-doing one or the other.
Kate Mara is quite good as the cold and somewhat emotionless Risk Management Consultant, Lee. But for me, it was Toby Jones as Dr. Ziegler and Rose Leslie as Amy who really shone and acted as great supports for Anya.
Anya Taylor-Joy (who had left me astonished in The Witch) also makes a perfect work in her role, and the supporting cast includes many brilliant actors (Toby Jones, Rose Leslie, Vinette Robinson, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Giamatti and Brian Cox) bringing absolute credibility to their roles.
Morgan was an average sci-fi thriller with decent acting by the cast especially Anya Taylor Joy. The story is similar to Ex-Machina by inferior to that film.
Sure it's not the most original piece of sci fi films of all time or anything but it's still a fairly well-made film.If I was to compare it with something I guess I would say something like 'Ex Machina (2015)' meets 'Splice (2009)' meets 'The Guest (2014)' kinda.The cast are good all over the map, Kate Mara shines the most IMO.
Morgan directed by Luke Scott is a sci-fi horror film about a group of scientists who have artificially created a humanoid being.
although many of the characters are not very complex they each have clear motivations and emotions towards Morgan and their task as scientists and this makes the film have emotional impact and adds to the horror of the story.
But the main thing is do a humanoid creature and the creature is very intelligent and this is a threat for humanities and you have shut down this.this is not as common story line but the theme is very common and the central character is very similar to any other science fiction movie.
Let's get startedLIKES  A true science fiction plot  Decent acting  Twist in the endTo quote a friend, "We seldom get a true science fiction movie that isn't drowned out by CGI action scenes and grotesque monsters." Fortunately, Morgan defies that trend and dives deep into the core of the genre, focusing on the scientific process in all its details.
DISLIKES:  Boring, slow pace  Not a horror movie or suspenseful  Graphic Torture Morgan's message about the mistakes made when playing God are beaten over the head, but the package it's delivered in was so dull at times.
The movie stars Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy (of 'THE WITCH' fame), Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Toby Jones, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Giamatti.
Something goes terribly wrong.The movie definitely isn't the most high concept sci-fi thriller out there; it definitely doesn't rival Ridley's greatest films either (like 'BLADE RUNNER' or 'PROMETHEUS'), but it's still a lot of fun!
I think it's a pretty impressive debut film for Luke Scott!Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/Xm22965_JOo. ex-Machine = Morgan.
It just shows that they had a cool premise but had no idea what to do with it, thus ending it as soon as possible, and with one of the worst death scenes ever for a "villain."There is a cool twist with Kate's character during the final shot of the film, but besides that, this movie doesn't need to be seen unless you have 85 minutes to spend.
"Morgan" is a slow-moving, dialogue-filled artificial intelligence thriller which lacks the action or horror elements many viewers expected from the movie, thus turning it into a major critical and commercial disappointment.
The film benefits mainly from its great A-list cast, including an amazing Kate Mara, the surprisingly good performers Anya Taylor-Joy and Rose Leslie as well as talented and experienced veteran actors Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Cox, Paul Giamatti and Toby Jones (all of whom are not granted more screen time than just a few minutes, unfortunately).
Overall, "Morgan" remains a shallow exploration of themes which have been examined in movies many times before, without offering a decent pay-off or anything that could possibly amount to more than just an average film..
The previous rule did not regulate the film of Luke Scott, considering that besides not give an inherently intelligent response to well-known story, living in the shadow of several classics of science fiction - among them, some of his father - and tries to innovate becoming the little it had been achieved in an incoherent horror-thriller filled with unjustified violence."Ex Machina", the Sci-Fi surprise of 2015 is its illustrious mentor.
Morgan went beyond the two previous movies in that it was looking at multiple people's view of the subject instead of just two persons views like Ex Machina.
So Morgan directed by Luke Scott is a sci-fi horror movie with the plot involving a team of scientist tried to raise a girl made from a lab that go horribly wrong .Basic concept that has been made million time before but this time it actually tried to tell a different story.Much like his dad Sir Riddley Scott the man who brought us many great sci-fi movie like Blade Runner,Alien and Prometheus he really know how to shoot a movie with great cinematography and beautiful isolation location.The acting in this movie is great,everybody is giving their best work throughout the movie with two spot on performance by Kate Mara and Anya Taylor-Joy play the main character Morgan who keep proving herself is one of the best young actress working day.In the end this is a damn fine sci-fi horror movie with many intense scene,good action movie set pieces and a very shocking third part which make me feel very disturbed.If you a hardcore sci-fi movie fan definitely check this movie out.
That isn't all bad as the action is quite suspenseful but it's disappointing if you wanted something deeper.The second half of the movie is consumed with the scientists' protection of their prodigy and it all seems so familiar that it's like watching Ex Machina again.
Boyd Holbrook, the team's chef, stands out as the human element of the movie but is underused and doesn't quite add the contrast to the artificial that he could have.Returning to the comparison with Ex Machina, Morgan takes the formula and improves upon it by twisting the ending so we're given a more satisfying conclusion.
Very engaging, very entertaining.When a genetic experiment named Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy) attacks one of the attending resident doctors at a hidden facility, a risk management expert, Lee Weathers (Kate Mara), is sent in to begin assessing the situation.
Overall, Morgan is a good addition as well as sometimes an apparent improvement on the vast majority of artificial intelligence movies to date, ranking with the best of them including the more forward looking Ex Machina (2015)(which I found an actress being too human trying to be an artificial life form instead of the other way around)), Transcendence (2014), Lucy (2014), Automata (2014), EVA (2011), and my favorite The Machine (2013)..
The script has several issues and there's a twist that's telegraphed almost from the get-go, but the cast (which includes Kate Mara, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Toby Jones) is solid, and the movie has a sleek, arresting visual look and a short running time, making it a serviceable diversion.
people keep comparing this movie to Ex-Machina.the two movies are completely different, if you love Ridley Scott and general Sci-Fi movies you'll definitely enjoy Morgan, it's intense fast paced thriller will leave you with more questions than answers when you finish the movie.
On the flip side, I also see many negative comparisons to Ex Machina - while I'd say EM was probably a more sound movie from an overall film-making and quality perspective, I'd watch Morgan a second and third time before I'd want to sit through EM again.It was a good, thoughtful, entertaining movie and it gives me hope that Luke Scott will carry on the Scott tradition of being a cut above in Hollywood..
In this Sci-fi Drama, Morgan is a Frankenstein-like monster, a human created in a lab by a group of mad scientist, but unlike Frankenstein's Monster, Morgan is a little more aware of her small group of villager's feelings on her and is design to be more capable to deal with it, making everyone's fears on Morgan come true.Kate Mara was really hot in this movie.
It mustn't be easy being the offspring of a legendary filmmaker if you yourself are looking to carve out a successful career behind camera.No matter what you do to start off with, its inevitable that you're beginning works will be referenced against the works of your parent.In consideration of this, it's hard to not judge budding filmmaker Luke Scott here on debut against the works of his father Ridley and in doing so the young upstart doesn't even come close to the best of Scott's many years of solid works and at the end of the day, Luke's Morgan feels like a cheap and nasty version of a much better film in the form of Alex Garland's Ex_Machina.Sharing many similarities to 2015's sci-fi hit in the way in which it deals with artificial/manufactured intelligence and the way in which we study/deal with it, Morgan has some very cool ideas but its uneasy mix of sci-fi and horror elements combine to create a genuinely unengaging experience that fails in almost all aspects.Scott doesn't at present possess his father's talent for visual pizazz and thrilling handling of action whilst the many more conversational moments of Morgan (of which there are many) fail to properly get you in their grips, bar one particularly good Paul Giamatti cameo (when isn't this guy MVP of whatever his in?).
The way also in which we are introduced to Morgan (an artificially created being) and the team tasked with handling her development also leaves much to be desired despite some solid attempts by the recognisable cast.Led by Kate Mara as emotionally void higher up employee Lee Weathers, Morgan also introduces us to Rose Leslie's loving carer Dr. Amy Menser and Anya Taylor-Joy's titular mysterious creation but unlike say Ex_Machina's wholly engaging cast of characters and scenes together, Morgan never bothers to make us care about the group were joined up with, even if at times Scott try's to manipulate our emotions in certain ways.It's arguable that there's a good story to be told within Morgan but there's also solid arguments to be made that this type of story has been told before and told a lot better and while it's great to know the Scott name is entering into its next generation, Luke certainly has a long way to go before we can start getting excited about that fact.1 injured deer out of 5.
In fact, that alone makes me want to re-watch the movie to pick up on clues that were sprinkled throughout the movie.Anya Taylor-Joy is well cast as Morgan and she does a good job expressing the conflicting and confusing emotions of an AI human who is only five years old and still learning.
After watching this and The Witch, I look forward to future Taylor-Joy movies.However, Morgan would have been improved with better character development in the supporting cast.
To be honest, I was getting a little bored of this movie before Giamatti showed up, so, at least, he pumped some life and energy in this film.Finally, there is the performance of Anya Taylor-Joy as Morgan.
There is no character development, no decent acting, no enticing script writing (not even a good plot!), just a rehashing of other movies (i.e. Ex Machina,Lucy,etc) that did it better.
very predictable - you know she's gonna escape, you know she's gonna kill as many of the egg heads - just like in ex machina, species or splice movies - and you know she's gonna be killed off in the very end.I agree with most of the youtubers the girl who played morgan, did a good job.
It was also unable to deliver on being any one of Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller/Horror purely through a lack of any major elements that contribute to owning those genres.The main thing for me was Mara's character, I never once bought into her role and I think she really struggled with the complexities of her character and bringing what was required to the screen.Given the meagre budget of the film and being the directorial debut for Son of a Gun, Luke Scott, I guess it is unsurprising that not every note was hit (or even played) in Morgan.I do however, believe that Anya Taylor-Joy's star is rising and we should see more of her in future.Oh, special mention - Brian Cox is such a great actor, I love most of his on screen roles, but I will never understand why he is continually under utilized.
Si-Fi horror movie.An agent (Kate Mara) is sent to a 'secret' facility to perform a risk assessment to determine whether the lab created 'Morgan' should be terminated.
Morgan (2016): Dir: Luke Scott / Cast: Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Toby Jones, Rose Leslie, Paul Giamatti: Underrated science fiction thriller that mat remind viewers of Ex Machina.