This film is more drama than thriller, and is limited in the action, all the while confusing in the details and lacking the proper pacing. Though the initial set up is great, and the core message well delivered, the movie never really thrills or excites along the way.
What dragged me to this in the first place is the idea/premise which feels great and has a lot of potential to be an exciting blockbuster, (heck, even the trailer seems great), however it never really lived up to expectations, and takes the movie in a different direction instead. As a TV series, it might work, but as a movie, I believe it should have been more explosive and daring with the plot.
Rarely does the film thrill or is presented with dangers and suspense, instead it felt slow and focuses more on drama (kind of reminds me of Oblivion). The impact is that there are never really any action sequences that is exciting, which could have been so with a more daring plot. The idea has potential, and could even be expanded into a trilogy, if it dares to challenge and expand the story and issue into a more threatening danger.
The plot is designed to be thought-provoking, and it is, but most of the time the answers were not given, and it feels as if most are just left to the imagination. It was never clear in the details, hence I could never really understood the motive, what the AI wants, and what danger it possesses. Perhaps this is why the film lacks in thrill and suspense.
On a side note, the film did display some cool visual style, and it employs a strong cast to strike the emotions through. But it has poor characterization and narrative that never really sets the characters going. It has quite the emotional and touching ending, and the message was well delivered to audiences. The start was great, and the end was meaningful, but in between, there was never any fun and action (and thrill and suspense) to be had. The movie has potential, and it could be so much more, it just wasn't.
VERDICT:
Good: Cool visual style, Strong cast, Touching ending/message, Great idea/premise
Bad: Lacks thrill & suspense, Limited action, Confusing details
SCORE: 5.5
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