Having dabbled in acclaimed entries into the genre such as Sunshine, 28 Days Later and the beloved Dredd reboot, Alex Garland’s directorial debut was always going to be met with an air of excitement. When Ex Machina made premiered in the UK last month, sci-fi fans were treated to an intelligent thriller that matched brains with brawn, and its overly positive reception has left us longing for the film’s North American release in April.
Essentially, Ex Machina revolves around one key question: what happens to a machine — and indeed humanity in general — when an artificial intelligence becomes sentient? Starring Domhnall Gleeson as budding programmer Caleb, the film will see him travel to the luxurious home of his reclusive boss, Nathan. As the CEO behind the largest Internet search engine in the world (cue the comparisons to Google), Nathan has engineered what he hopes is the most advanced AI in history through Ava, who is brought to life with aplomb by rising star Alicia Vikander.
But throughout the course of his time at the far-flung home, Caleb soon discovers that the eclectic genius isn’t all he appears to be. At We Got This Covered, we loved Ex Machina when it launched in the UK, praising the film’s characterization and smart script.
Ex Machina will make its way across the pond ahead of its North American release on April 10, 2015. In the meantime, let us know whether or not you’re excited to see Garland’s first venture behind the lens using the comments below.
Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test – charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan’s latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated, seductive––and more deceptive––than the two men could have imagined.