The Machine

In 90 minutes, successfully synthesizes the concepts of a lot of classic sci-fi films - what it means to be human, the link between memory and sense of self, the moral quandrary surrounding advanced artificial intelligence - and packages it in an entertaining and emotionally involving presentation, with some shockingly great effects and production design for such a modestly-budgeted film. My only real complaint is the all-too-obvious dialogue.

Familiar ideas wrapped in a dull package, with a very dour atmosphere and virtually no exterior shots. The score sounds Carpenter-influenced but fails to lift the mood. Bears no comparison with the artfulness and complexity of HER or the cinematic audacity of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING (and where the latter is not just about "artificial intelligence" but the notion that memories, and therefore beliefs and desires, are always false, fictions we must adopt in order to be able to live).

Quality hard sci-fi! Certainly could have been better in many ways, but left me wanting more.

Yeah, the Turing test and what does it mean to be a person and what is sentience and blah-de-blah. Nicely made and all, but every single thing here has been done better by better movies.

Trashy, derivative and sort of brilliant in about equal measure. It's not an expensive production, but the effects and the lighting were excellent.

It's well made for what seems like a pretty tight budget, and the overall plot was actually okay looking back but it just plodded along without any drama or urgency,

I watched this movie after reading it described as Beyond the Black Rainbow meets Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. I can scarcely think of a more apt descriptor. James takes one of the oldest robot tropes in the book and, through febrile direction and a quietly brilliant score, makes an unforgettable fever dream of a film. The absolutely badass climax doesn't hurt matters either.

A handful of decent ideas sprinkled over a giant wheel of rotten cheese. I love artificial intelligence stories, but this is just too disjointed to recommend. "Her" is 100 times the movie this is.

if you print a reference to "blade runner" on your cover, even if it's just some random reviewer's dumb as shit opinion, you better be god damn right!!!

an interesting artifical intelligence movie with dark & mysterious esthetics... good use of soundtrack (which sounds like 80s)

Wow! That hit the spot.

Why do these robots kinda sound like the Prawns from District 9?

Too slow. I turned it to double speed about an hour in just to get the resolution. Characters motivations not developed enough. The blurb says the two programmers fell in love, which wasn't shown, so the machine just randomly loves the guy. Could've been interesting if the explored the machine's motivations, if any, some more. Also I didn't like the mise en scene, they can't afford light bulbs in the future?

Some of the plot was pretty simplistic or run of the mill, the kind one saw explored deeper in other medias. But the visuals were good and dark, impressive for the budget, and some acting was striking. This movie won't change the world but it can be a curiosity piece

Another attempt at making a film that addresses the human-AI intersection. It shows an admiral ambition to overcome its low budget, but in general the entire thing moves too fast and there's too little weight given to the emotional developments. The writing for the antagonist is especially cheesy and unsubtle.

Very well made independent A.I. Sci-fi film made for a fraction of the cost of Hollywood big studio flicks. The sets and costumes are simple but well done, and there are some interesting effects used. The acting is excellent and I thought Lotz was truly a gem of the film as she really took the nuances of A.I. to heart. The use of music at the proper times was also really well done.

An enjoyable low-budget SF http://movie-freak.be/2014/04/the-machine-2013/

Doesn't bring much new to turing test scifi, the sound and visual rough-edges -along with it's 'small' and clunkiness- gave it a pleasingly dream-like chamber play feel and the retro synth score was fun.

I liked the trashy 70-80's Scifi style, and low budget handling but it just couldn't cut it. The movie does not have a good enough script to hold it all together, not an awful watch but one can do without if if you're a sci fi fan, Ex Machina handles it much better with more class.

There are some striking similarities between this movie and Ex Machina (other way around actually, since this film was released first). Where Ex Machina was intelligent and interesting this film is trashy and silly. Very forgettable too.

In the not so distant future, China has grown into a technological superpower, the West is languishing in economic despair, and the British Ministry of Defense has developed a bullet-proof chamisole with bralette. People who enjoy science fition movies will recognize elements of both science and fiction peppered throught the 90-minute run time. The rest is just a lot of emotionless robots trying their darndest to be emotionful robots.

A lot of potential let down by the direction and poor pacing. Failed to keep my attention

The Machine is rarity in that it is a sci-fi film made for adults rather than Tweens/YA. While it does borrow elements from sci-fi classics like 'The Terminator', it does try for new ground. Unfortunately there is a lot wrong with the film and it does fall flat. The electro-beat synth score works well with the material, but is employed too early and too loudly that it is jarring. The effects are great for the most part, but deteriorate by the end. Overall there's a lot room for improvement.

Never know what you're going to get with a low-budget film that seems to take itself seriously, such as this one. But it really wasn't bad at all.

The acting's not very convincing at times, and the story doesn't quite flow at times. But it is an interesting movie with pondering some philosophical questions.

The Machine is a nice sci-fi film with a simple plot, scenes probably inspired by other cyberpunk movies and games (Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, Syndicate Wars even Beyond the Black Rainbow) and the same goes for the sound track. Although the film does not shock by its originality, some scenes are well done which is quite impressive considering the relatively low budget. On the other hand, even on low budget, one can make a great movie with an original story. Next time?

Pros: atmosphere, score, actors/acting Cons: soooo not far enough with the psychological and philosophical dilemmas and implications, nothing really gets worked out and in the end it's just a break-out story, too bad. This needs a director's cut.

A sci-fi gem that seems to have been completely overlooked. Very Blade Runner-esque, with plenty of Solaris in there, too.

Refuses one of the biggest A.I. cliches by denying it access to infinite information, without bringing anything new to the table. The battle for the machine's soul is clumsy and unimaginative, and the new race of implanted humans should probably have warranted further attention. The foggy and distancing, almost cowardly, cinematography certainly doesn't do the movie any favors.

The central push and pull of the story revolves around one laughably dickish guy's desire to turn a robot into an angel of death while a "genius" programmer with a sick child wants to make it more emotionally human. The movie seems to fashion itself as "thinking man's sci-fi" but is mostly B-movie pulp. The machine herself is overly sexualized and very childlike - a combination that may stir some boys' hearts for prurient reasons, but fails to fascinate beyond that.

Bardzo mi sie podobal ten film jest w moim klimacie. Takie moje male przemyslenie: Czy maszyna nie moze byc bardziej ludzka od ludzi? Po tym filmie mozna sobie na tego typu pytania odpowiedziec samemu. Co do samego filmu niektore dialogi były wedlug mnie idealne(między maszyną, a człowiekiem), oddawaly klimat filmu. Polecam. :)

I skipped half of the film, so I probably missed all the good parts...

1236: i like it.

eng; [the machine]; zwei programmierer schaffen eine künstliche intelligenz mit bewusstsein, welche in einen roboter gepflanzt wird um menschen zu helfen - doch die militärfinanzierte forschung hat eigenes vor.;

Mam mieszane uczucia po seansie. Z jednej strony film ma ogromny potecjal, jest niezle zrealizowany, klimatyczny i ma plastikowy soundtrack. Niestety przez nonsensy fabularne film odbiega od wizualnego poziomu. Niezle jak na debiut.

Not a bad little sci-fi movie from the UK. I'd say the Blade Runner comparison was an afterthought and the "two computer programmers fall in love..." spiel from the summary is pure nonsense, so I'd advise ignoring both and enjoy it for what it is.

A nice and natural nudity though they did not show anything inappropriate. There was some simple but effective robotic effects but the story making and acting was pretty lame. Despite interesting set up they did not came out with anything decent plot.

First film I've ever walked out on. Painfully stupid and horribly acted.