#1094 – Review: Ex Machina

The last two movies I’ve seen have been all about artificial intelligence. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ultron wears his intentions on his metal sleeves and lets the Avengers know his plans for world destruction. In Ex Machina, the AI is less upfront about her intentions, which creates even more tension than Ultron and all of his robots.

I have wanted to see Ex Machina for quite some time and finally made it to the theater. The film’s director, Alex Garland, is best know for writing the scripts for 28 Days Later and Sunshine. I have an aversion to zombies so I haven’t seen 28 Days Later, but I do enjoy Sunshine. Garland seems to have a knack for suspense, which he brings to Ex Machina.

Ex Machina’s suspense is less intense than being chased by a group of zombies, but it is just as palpable. Ava, the AI, stands at the center of that suspense. Throughout the film the audience questions whether Ava, who is being tested for her artificial intelligence, isn’t the one actually testing her human counterparts.

I’ll try not to give away too much of the movie, but it did have plenty of deeper themes to explore.

God

Nathan, Ava’s creator, says that he is God. Facetious or not, Nathan really hits on one of Ex Machinia’s central themes. To this point in history, God is the only one who has ever given anyone consciousness. The breath God breathes into Adam’s lungs is what separates us from animals. Humans may have cloned sheep, but we’ve yet to create something with a human consciousness, aware of its own existence. The fact that he is a creator is one of the first things we learn about God. I doubt that humanity will ever create true artificial intelligence, mostly because we don’t have the ability to breathe the breath of life. I hope to see plenty of science fiction become science fact, but I don’t think artificial intelligence will ever make that leap.

Humanity

Whenever stories focus on artificial life, we tend to learn more about our own humanity. A.I. taught us what it meant to feel alone. The Next Generation episode “The Measure of a Man” taught us about what we should truly value. Ex Machina teaches about our longing for connection, looking for those connections wherever we can find them. Ava was a fascinating character, but so were the human characters. Nathan as the reclusive genius and Caleb as Eva’s inquisitive inquisitor, were almost as interesting as Ava. If Ava wanted to learn more about human behavior, then watching Ex Machina would have been a great addition to her curriculum.

Relationships

Most of Ava’s tests involve interacting with Caleb, answering his questions and asking some of her own. The scenes between the two of them are engrossing, watching Caleb’s attitude toward Ava change the more time he spends with her. The most human thing about Ava is her desire for relationships, to be connected to someone other than herself. Whether we admit it or not, we all have the need to be in relationship. Like Ava, we should crave relationships and contact with others. Unlike Ava, we shouldn’t be as creepy and bring as much tension into our relationships.

I enjoyed Ex Machina but it’s definitely a movie that could benefit from a second viewing and a friend with whom to discuss it. I don’t know if I can recommend it because it was very different and a little NSFC (not safe for church). If you like more cerebral science fiction with tension that simmers instead of explodes, then Ex Machina could be for you.

If you’ve seen it, what did you think of Ex Machina?