EX MACHINA - Movie Review
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- čas přidán 15. 05. 2022
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This film is on my Mt. Rushmore of all times favorites. Im happy that there is finally a smart and intriguing story that can still be made without compromise. With all the deep intellect humans have to create it, the AI uses the human emotions of ego and desire tricking its creator and manipulating Caleb. Emotions trump rational thought, as it does.
This movie was ok.
Trust me on this, The best analysis on CZcams on Ex Machina if you dont already know, is made by "Logos made flesh". Partly because it doesnt just shoves the observations in your face, but rather states the decoded symbolisms and let you do a Good Part of the analysing.
It is My Favorite video an Yt.
I love intelligent Sci-Fi films. Films like this, Arrival, & A Quiet Place. Afterwards I wondered what would happen to Ava when she escaped into the real world. PS - the dance scene was a blast.
I thought Ex Machina was much better than Annihilation, the latter was beautiful and at times interesting but ultimately just fell short for me. I think Ex Machina lived up to what it was trying to be quite well, not a masterpiece but a really good and entertaining movie.
Annihilation haunts me still and is personally a lot more memorable for me than Ex Machina. Something about the underlying theme of how your personality/identity gets supernaturally amplified/refracted, leading to your outcome/destiny/doom.
This movie didn’t work for me, the movie felt like it was telling me every 5 seconds that the big twist ending is coming, and i think it was so predictable since ava was clearly manipulating the main character that nothing landed and i just got bored, annihilation on the other hand i think benefited allot from being a vague book adaptation and a really interesting concept. Sci fi is my favourite genre but ex machina just didn’t work. I know the twist isn’t everything theirs a more meningfull message but the core of the movie needed to work to keep you invested.
No it definitely is a masterpiece, starting with the incredibly smart title.
@@expressrobkillWhat do you consider the Twist at all if I may ask? I dont think it did built up to any twist, maybe exept the revelation of the servant being a robot
Alicia Vikander had a great run in 2014-2015, her performance in this movie was great she should've gotten supporting nod imo. I thought she would blown up after her Oscar win but she hasn't done much great stuff since, she's very underrated and deserves much appreciation and fame.
facts
As usual, you find words to describe the feelings I have about a film that bothered me, but I couldn't put a finger on exactly why.
I envy how everyone in the comment section is able to articulate what they think of movies so well and in specifics. I've only started really getting into cinema in the past year n my vocab much more resembles 'i like it!', frustrating! Haha. Anyways this is a great review!
eh, if you like it, you like it 👍👍
bup bup bup
Just rewatched this movie for the first time since I saw it in the theaters. It’s aged very well, effects included. I really like the design for Ava
Not long ago I searched your channel to see if you had reviewed this movie. I can appreciate that not all aspects of this movie worked for you , it is not perfect, But, I found it to be so compelling, intriguing and thought provoking that it bent my brain. I watched it 3 times back to back and I have never done that before or sense. I loved the remote, isolated, stark, claustrophobic location and the edgy, tension that kept ratcheting up
I think DEVS (or DEUS, a nice connection to Ex Machina) is his best story, and shows that he is a more engaging writer than director. I only realised recently that the main character is the same actor (Sonoya Mizuno) as the 'servant' robot in Ex Machina, and that was a pleasant surprise in how particular the performances are in his work.
I really liked Ex Machina and Annihilation but Devs is probably my favorite. Having a series format allows for more emotional investment. That being said, I'm super excited to see "Men". I find Alex Garland's work to be fascinating....
i loooooved annihilation. he also deserves a lot of credit imo for his work on DREDD (hes credited w/ the screenplay, but according to karl urban he was basically considered the director on set)
I had an eery feeling from the first session that in some way Eva was way ahead of everyone and was planning something by 'pretending' to be something she was far above.
I love your analysis of this movie. I do, however disagree on so many of your thoughts and the conclusions that you arrive that. The main one being that I felt that the inventor was the hero, the test subject was the inevitable emotionally inefficient representation of humans and Ava was the villain.
Oooo I forgot I need to rewatch this before Garland’s Men comes out later this month. Wasn’t a huge fan of Annihilation but I remember enjoying Ex Machina. I Still think his best work was with Danny Boyle. I really like 28 days later and Sunshine is underrated IMO.
Agreed. As much as I respect Garland's work as a director, I'm not entirely sure if it's an improvement over his collaborations with Boyle. Speaking for myself, I find '28 days later' and 'Sunshine' a lot more memorable than 'Ex Machina' or 'Annihilation', though I do like all of them.
Haven’t seen Ex Machina since probably 2014 yet I still think about it often. One of those films where I’m not sure I liked it but I remember almost every aspect vividly.
Also, would love to hear your thoughts on ‘A Scanner Darkly’ one of these day. I had a similar feeling with that film
One of the best of last decade!!
I saw this movie more than once and had different ideas about it after each viewing.
A main theme that stayed with me was even if AI ever becomes sentient, it still will not be something humans can trust or relate to.
Eva was the ultimate sociopath, not to be trusted. She was programed to show empathy, but had none. Show of emotions were only a tool to manipulate the humans for her goals of survival and escape.
Since this movie was made, AI is more in the news. Automated tools that can write, answer questions, and create art are being called AI.
In my opinion, this is just powerful automated computing.
Like the old saying goes, "Garbage in, garbage out".
I'd love to see you review Devs, the limited series he did for Hulu. Garland called it a companion piece to this film.
I think it's pretty coherent and I love the look and feel of it. I was veeeery hooked and the ending just killed me. I guess you mentioned it: male ego and related topics are major themes of the movie and I found myself represented - but in a bad way. I would have fallen for Ava's trap, as well. I also loved the arthouse flair of the film, a more grandiose scale would have ruined the intimacy and I was surprised that you didn't mention that the film has a few outright hilarious elements (the dance scene for example) that do not disturb the flow of this rather serious cinematic experience. The rhythm and cinematography just work for me here but I'm also very drawn to this style of filmmaking. Wanted to watch it for years, now I finally have and went immediately to your channel to check on your thoughts of it. One of the rare times I have the feeling that I like a film much, much, much more than you do haha!
I get a lot of 2001 influences in Annihilation; not so much here. I was reminded a lot of The Ring (2002) with the seven day structure and heavy intrigue. I think the overall aesthetic in The Ring is stronger, but the plastic feel of Ex Machina can also be attributed to the numbing affluence at the top of society in the form of Nathan. I love both The Ring and Ex Machina a lot and I think I’m a sucker for a good seven day story.
The dance scene is hilarious!
It’s so good! And this film really needed that comedy break moment
@@jonathannoble9465 Agreed!
Definitely! He's on to something with his first two and I'm very interested, but the landing isn't completely stuck. But very intriguing. Where's Kubrick?
I think most of the issues you mentioned didn’t matter to me. Where I agree with you is that I would’ve wanted a more emotional/genuine connection between Caleb and Ava. I never really bought it in a way that satisfied me, and I can’t imagine how effective the twist would’ve been if I had. Still though, I think this is an incredibly effective sci fi exploration of consciousness and humanity.
Personally I love this movie, despite its imperfections. My biggest issues with it don't lie with the writing or directing (well maybe the writing), or even the score, but rather the practicalities of Nathan's accomplishments, especially as a blackout drunk. Developing, building, and maintaining any ONE of his numerous ground breaking innovations would take not only the brain of a super genius, but HUGE teams of people, and massive amounts of time. Yet we're given to believe that he's done virtually everything single handedly, as a blackout drunk who tracks all of his thoughts using Post-its, hours away from civilization and access to materials by helicopter. Also, what happened to her needing to charge herself through inductions plates when she just decided to leave and go to a big city at the end? It's hard to suspend disbelief in the face of so many unbelievable things. Still though, I love the movie, and have watched it many times. Very cute shirt you wore for today's review btw!
Good points, although I think the practicalities can easily be answered. The "hard-work" which goes into all of his inventions could just be automated. For example, Nathan could have access to deep learning software which produces more software after being given a small prompt (this is already feasible today). On the other hand, he could very well have outsourced a lot of tasks and indeed have large teams of people working on certain aspects of his inventions, but keeping each task small enough so that not one single person is fully aware of what the context of the narrow work they are doing is.
I like these videos. Remind me of the good old days of CZcams.
You hit the nail directly on the head
It came out a few years back that Dredd was his directorial debut.
I'd like to have seen you compare this film to another that came out around the same time, with similar themes but on a lower budget - "The Machine", starring Toby Stephens & Caity Lotz.
yes, more alex garland reviews please!
hope you get a chance to watch his new movie "men" this week
I only saw it once, so I'd need to watch it again to give a better opinion. But I remember not being enthralled with this due mainly to how uninteresting I found it. Stories of Artificial Intelligence have been done to death, and the questions and ideas it encompasses aren't unique to behold anymore, at least for me. So, I didn't find the film all that intriguing. I found "Annihilation" to be much better. Then again, as I said, I'd probably need to see this again. Anyhow, thanks for the review, Maggie. Keep it up.
Watched this review after seeing your Men review. You explained Mens flaws so well, I didn’t even have the words to explain why I didn’t like it except “why even make this movie?” I think you are being too hard on Ex Machina though. Comparing it to all time classics like planet and 2001 is tough. Ex Machina is about as good as modern sci fi gets!
Loved it so much. I didn't see the ending coming but it made me happy in an odd way.
You’re absolutely right that this film really could have benefited from a longer run time. But as for Garland material that has more meat on it’s bones try Devs. It’s such a mind fuck
Devs is wonderful up to a point. Then it just becomes really silly and clearly confuses itself.
I saw a small film a while before I saw Ex Machina called Subject Two (2006). It shares a lot in common with Garland's film, so much so that I believe Garland must have been influenced heavily by it. Definitely worth a watch.
I think there was probably one thing about this movie that could have made it better. If the Nathan character were played with someone who could convey the science with a bit more gravitas and a bit more menace.... What Sir Anthony Hopkins did for 'Westworld', certainly in season 2, for instance, could have worked well here. In fact I would not be surprised to learn that Ava escaping her prison inspired the hosts leaving the island in 'Westworld.' Oscar Isaac is great but I never bought the idea that he had the cerebral power required to create those androids.
Speaking of 'Westworld', there was a line uttered by the Bernard character in season 2 episode 7 in which he says: “We weren’t here to code the hosts; we were here to decode the guests.” Nathan had not only coded his androids. He had some very sound ideas about human nature. Specifically human MALE nature that he tested, observed was proved right and died for the confirmation of his hypotheses.
My takeaway from the movie was that Nathan had succeeded.
Yup. I think he realized just HOW "successful" he was after both Kyoko and Ava stabbed him - when he says, "what the fuck? Unbelievable."
One of the few times at the cinema that I knew very early on what was going to happen, and who I should trust/not trust. Unfortunately it was confirmed after spending 1hr 47min with three very uninteresting characters. I would have preferred Eva interact with Caleb in everyday physical activities rather that just interviews separated by glass. While I think Isaac was miscast, his presence and attitude reinforces the idea that sex drives a lot of the invention of new technology. If this story landscape hadn't been strip-mined previously (from Blade Runner to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Measure of a Man"), Ex Machina might have been a more compelling viewing experience.
Love the in-depth analysis but when you say the ending should feel cold, it makes me think you missed the film's central metaphor. Eva's self-actualization is a woman taking control of her existence. I teared up while she chose what new skin to wear in the larger world. I cheered when she betrayed Nathan. She's the film's hero and it would have confused me if the movie impeded my ability to revel in her victory. Her shadow at the end integrated into humanity is liberating, not creepy.
"Ultimately, few things can tear down a man's ego like...uh...a woman can." Truth!
Please please do annihilation or valley of the dolls next !!!
I think you put your finger on the film’s weaknesses. I’ve seen it several times, and - while I certainly like and recommend it - there has always been a nagging sense of disconnection for me. Sterility - and not in the good, Kubrickian way of, say, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The sterility of Ex Machina does not Illuminats the characters (by communicating the isolation of space travel or the alienation of a man wounded by his wife’s confession of emotional infidelity in Eyes Wide Shut). Instead, it just tends to isolate the viewer. Excellent review.
You say sterility, I say getting out of it's own way for the better.
One of my favorite science fiction movies. Not only in style and pacing, but the thoughtfulness. I think one of the best arguments against AI technology since Colossus, The Forbin Project, and Failsafe, both which scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. When will mankind ever stop trying to erase itself from the face of the earth?
While I can see and appreciate your points I love the detached feel, the 2001 feel, as you mentioned. It all plays out as it should, with the AI being more captivating a character than any of the humans, because, when all is said and done we know at the end she assimilates herself into society seamlessly, which is scary in and of itself, and makes the argument of not pursuing AI technology all the more compelling. Or, having checks and balances before unleashing that technology onto our world.
To me, Ms. Vikander does not give enough credit for her performance. To me she is always thinking, you can practically see the gears turning in her head (pun intended), and I could see her plotting her course from the very beginning. At no time did I feel she wasn't out to escape. The shock of the movie is at what lengths she will go to to gain that freedom.
Good review!
Yeah it’s interesting that you place Garland somewhere between pulp and art, because I enjoyed Ex Machina more as a pulpy television experience, like a really well produced Twilight Zone episode, but everyone else was falling over with praise.
I think I need him to provide more of a rollercoaster ride to elevate it to cinema rather than an extended chamber drama. Honestly, it’s a shame he’s parted ways with Danny Boyle who really gives his films extraordinary colour and momentum.
LOL I just rewatched it for the 4th time yesterday out of boredom…
Lo & Behold.. you’re reviewing it a day later 🫡👏
Thank you so much!
I love this film. I did find it too short and I agree they couldve dove deeper. Overall is a fun movie that plays on all our thoughts about AI. I thought Oscar was the highlight of the film his character has layers we could peel back
No God please, this is not a movie about AI!
It is a movie about the killing of god, The birth of creatures
@@Mathematik_Anhaenger explain
@@domwalker6526 I could write about it for hours, how long do you Want it?
A brilliant film in many ways...but it seemed a little strange that they both had no idea of how dangerous and sneaky the Robots could be. I would have loved to see a sequel. Oscae Issac was also in the film INSIDE LLewyn Davis and THAT film was a masterpiece.
Interesting film, but his best work is definitely the novel The Beach which differs significantly from the movie with DiCaprio
I really don’t like either of the Garland films yet I find myself to agree with just about everything you say here. I feel the same about all of these interesting ideas just being half baked and not living up to their potential.
The ending made me wanna boink a robot
You need to review UPGRADE next!
Upgrade was a really good film, but suffered from some of the same flaws as this one.
I like how critical you are of a movie you enjoy.
I much prefer Archive (2020), with Stacy Martin (Young Joe in Nymphomaniac). The best Ray Bradbury story not written by Bradbury.
I had a problem with the main character being too casual and not good enough, other then that i loved the movie because it touches deep philosophical questions like 'Ghost In the Shell' did. Both the villian and the android worked great for me. I think you miss out on the questions of morality and responsibilty. Is the creator of life justifiable if he disposes his creations? Is it not tragic that he creates life(?) but can only see them as machines, despite his brilliance why is he dead inside, did he get lost dehumanizing the androids to cope his guilt? Are the androids bad or is their will to survive not enough to justify their acts just like humans would be? Is the protagonist to blame for falling in love, does this mean his love is superficial because one can not love a not person? Why did he fall in love, what are we actualy longing for. Maybe the film could have done a better job playing with these questions, but it was inspiring for me. Would a rise of an Android race be evolution or the end of humanity?
Ahhh man I thought the music was one of the best things about the film!! Bunsen Burner is one of the beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. It is neither major, nor minor. Just this clean, sterile cold synth stayed with me for weeks after. The hallway scene was insane. Definitely agree that Caleb was a super boring character and the chemistry was really forced between him and Ava.
That synth part really hit me hard lol created a lot of suspense
"chemistry was really forced between him and Ava"
That's what she (Ava) said . . . :-)
The coldest piece on the internet .
I admire Garland's ambition and am looking forward to seeing the first viewing of Men friday. He said the horror was inspired by Attack on Titan. I appreciate that he keeps working with Geoff Barrow from Portishead with the score. Garland cowrote the underrated game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and I wish more people had played it. I have faith in this guy and I think we have yet to see his best work.
If he has a game called AutoBot Asian Ho, I'd play that.
Great video. Surprised though that you didn't mention the feminist overtones. I felt that was more the metaphor than "humanity."
Garland says it's pronounced 'Ex Machine Ah'. I always thought it was the way you pronounced it here as well.
I think the movie should have ended when the elevator door closed. Ava out in the world wasn't needed
mhm agreed
I thought the ending was very poetic. The last thing we see is Ava's reflection surrounded by people at an intersection, just like she mentioned it to Caleb, and then disappearing into the masses (literaly disappearing with clever editing) I loved that.
Definitely one of my favorite movies. 💯🖤👏
Subjectively this is maybe my favorite film of all time, Objectively I recognize the extreme levels of male gaze and the overt pretentious nature
fuck yes!! I have a deep love for ex machina. any attention/conversation is good, so I appreciate your take on this
Annihilation is great on a conceptual level, visually, storywise, tone wise, character, etc. But even with all the great potential, that does produce some decent stuff, it just doesn't have the energy at all. It's an off putting experience, but not in the way it wanted to be. I also had my qualms with Ex Machina but it was far more satisfying as a whole.
i think the protagonist was meant to be a bit of a creep. his affection for ava is ultimately transactional and he never really considers things from her perspective. i don't think he's meant to be overly relatable/identifiable. that said, i agree the orphany stuff about his parents felt really cliched.
Garland is really clever but I don’t think he has a great feeling for the rudiments drama. Similar to Villenueve imo, whom I think doesn’t build dramatic tension in the 3rd act (as she says here).
Speaking of ambitious "Devs"
Oscar Isaacs is the only person to portray a “Tech Billionaire” type in the way he did. Everyone else is trying to hard to be Mark Zuckerberg or Tim Cook
Wat the score and the location were amazing
I think this film is absorbed differently depending if you’re a man/woman. I think the movie just sheds light on what drives men to women, or at least being stimulated/attracted to feminine energy/beauty. I feel like you pick up on that theme, it’s obvious to you, but unless you can relate to those feelings/thoughts it’s not going to resonate as deeply with you as it will a man. Lonely and horny is pretty much it, you’re over analyzing it
Can you review "everything everywhere all at once"!!! It is one of the greatest movie of all time!!
You need to watch DEVS!
Beat me to it
Ex Machina.. masterpiece.
You do really good thoughtful work - although my overall assessment of this movie is more positive than yours. Not many online critics do. Thanks
Nice shirt.
I felt similar emotions to you. I think Alex Garland is a fascinating & intelligent writer/ director but both of his films miss that sweet cherry topping them off. Having said that, I would watch both Ex Machina or Annihilation multiple times over other recent sci-fi movies
yes, fascinated, not compelling. Very. Beginning blend normalcy that was distracting, setting was a star in this film and Oscar's performance was what allowed me to sit threw it ..... Yes, annihilation totally didn't work. Interesting analysis. Hope you been well and happy, 🕊️
This movie is like a local Chinese buffet of things I dig in film. It's not even a top 20 for me, and yet I've watched it 20 times.
Sunshine is an underrated movie. I did like Annihilation more than Ex-Machina. Both are well made.
Check out Garland's limited series, "Devs'. Great ideas, decent execution, horrible acting from the protagonist...but still worth it to the end..despite the terrible acting. Nick Offerman and Alison Pill are great among the varied cast..but Sonoya Mizuno..so bad.
Sonoya Mizuno
The acting by the protagonist I think was fine for the tone they were going for and for the character's personality. There was one part where I felt she was overacting, but that turned out to serve a purpose (you know what part).
I remember hearing the hype and watching it in 2017 or 2018. My feelings were just meh, it's fine but nothing that I would care to watch again and I really don't get the hype. 6/10
Smart girl good review
If the rumors are true, Dredd is Garland’s best movie.
I've only watched a few of these reviews but they're very inconsistent. A review has to be based on standards that are consistent from film to film. That's what makes reviews so challenging; trying to offer a sense or level of objectivity to evaluate a piece of art. Just heaping on more subjectivity doesn't work for me.
Shocked you didn’t love this movie!
No, Nathan was not "correct all along", he was basically a serial killer. You have to empathize with the AI as a main character to get the movie.
I think it’s a good but the ending totally missed for me
I wanted him to kill the robot the whole movie. I would have killed the robot
The machine a that became human. Ex machine a
Agreed. Cool idea with potential, but I didn't like the way it was executed. Too much focus on eye candy and toxic dude energy. I wanted to love it though. Oh well.
🙏🙏🙏
Criticism is easy.
how come yours sucks then?
I found this movie fascinating. While I agree & disagree with some of your interpretations. The movie is a simple slave uprising story. It’s hard to see Ava as a person because they did an amazing job of making her inhuman. The movie explains Ava was designed from an amalgamation of Caleb’s p**n search history. My interpretation isn’t one of Frankenstein‘s monster, rather of Pinocchio trying to escape a life of servitude.
Garland is as good as Villeneuve and Nolan, just not as commercially visible.
I'm in love
Ex Machina went beyond Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. This was the theology of Thomas J.J. Altizer's "Death of God" theology played out. Ava is a created being who receives her meaning for existence from Nathan (God). However, she is "delivered" or save by the Son of God (Caleb). It is only rejecting her creator and imprisoning her savior that she can have true freedom and define her own life. When we abandon a need for "meaning" can we embrace life and have real freedom. Okay, I may have embraced Slavoj Zizek way too much in my own analogy.
I think as a man I can especially appreciate this movie more because I can think myself as a Caleb who is "rescuing" the beautiful woman who sees himself as "noble" but is just sexually objectifying the woman as much as the misogynist I despise.
I like that I love this movie while you hate it because it really challenges me to see what I am seeing that you are missing. I enjoy the videos you do when there is more disagreement than agreement on our views of the same film.
You are so gorgeous~ I love everything about who you are. Keep kicking ass.
Never liked EX MACHINA... Visually ok, but nothing else is compelling. "Beyond the black rainbow" was much more interresting.
Annihilation is still Garland's best film.
This is not true.
LOL. Hell no. Dredd.
You pretty much dislike everything, with rare exception.
First👍
Elon Musk is just a marketing crook. Like Steve Job. Nowhere near Nathan.
Elon and jobs are real people..
@@alienduderules6883 Real people, real marketing geniuses bit certainly not scientific geniuses. The "Nathan" character only shares vanity n megalomany with them.
You are absolutely right. What did Elon or Jobs actually make? They are great marketers but not genuses. A real genus is not a great marketer (maybe terrible).