Automata

Autómata is the kind of post apocalyptic movies I like to watch, one that makes you think about the future, about artificial intelligence, about how far we should go before our own progress makes us obsolete. It's an entertaining sci-fi, with good cinematography, believable futuristic landscapes, and a good cast. Antonio Banderas never disappoints with his acting. He's just a good actor that deserves to be in good movies. Autómata might not be well known to the public but it should, certainly if you like post apocalyptic stories.

I've never been a big fan of science fiction movies, but even if you're not a fan of the genre, this movie has a lot to offer. The film has great performances and visually it's an interesting picture to look at. The robots are probably the best part of the movie as you find yourself growing emotionally invested in them. An interesting film that holds your attention until the end.

An interesting premise is the key to a quality sci-fi film, and this is something Automata most definitely has. Set in a dystopian, Blade Runner-esqe future where much of the world has been rendered uninhabitable and the remainder of humanity lives in bleak, isolated cities, robots do most of the menial tasks in society. These robots are governed by two unalterable protocols, they cannot harm living beings, or alter themselves or any other robot. When Jacq (Antonio Banderas), a robot insurance claims agent, is sent to investigate a robot which a junkie cop (Dylan McDermott) shot when he saw it repairing itself, he uncovers more and more questions surrounding the robots and their ability to think and develop.

Unfortunately, that is around where the film stops really making sense. Around a third of the way into the film, Jacq is driven out of the city into the wasteland and all character behaviors from just about everyone become puzzling. A series of characters whom you don't really care about make decisions that just don't make sense working towards a finale that simply makes no sense given everything they had told you so far. A complete lack of any notable acting and inconsistent direction fail to save a film that had tons of promise, but completely lacked a second and third act.

When I first read the synopsis, I thought it would be an action movie, 'I, Robot', or something like that. But I was wrong... and I'm glad of it.

At first we have a brief explanation about what happened to earth(as we know it) and the robots protocols, but we understand it quite well, as it is very simple and objective... The movie begins with a scene that is a real punch in the face, and we get to see how the movie has a subjective plot. Then we face the fact that those protocols ain't working like they should... And there you are... Embarking with our protagonist, Jacq(Antonio Bandeiras), in a journey for answers. Those answers can be about the robots, as well as it can about us... So called human.

The movie has a slow pace and it develops in a different way than the average thrillers does... We watch a bunch of fight scenes and gunshots, but it ain't the point of the movie, those are consequences of the journey itself.

The score is for times absent, but it doesn't make it bad... When we hear it is great, it gives the movie so much heart... It's incredible.

The acting isn't so great... You can doubt the characters frequently, as you can't relate to them frequently, as well, and it's completely understandable.

At the end there's this feeling that the movie could be really more than it really is, there was so much potential... The movie isn't bad, it is awesome, but sometimes it just lacks character(and it incredibly comes from the human ones).

If you haven't watched this: Go ahead, it's amazing.

"Dying is a part of the human natural cycle. Your life is just a span in time."

Banderas' attempt at a sci-fi flick has great potential but it ultimately falls flat.

It's not because of the story. Although the trailer makes it clear that we're dealing with a recycled idea from Asimov's universe (robots that become more human than some humans), the movie barely scratches the surface of the issues at hand and chooses a middle path between a serious deep movie and an action flick and fails at both.

Banderas' character is the only one that interesting and it's easy to follow him and his point of view all the way from a corporate lackey to a guy involved in some ethical dilemmas. He acts well, way better than the movie average.

The first problem is that there aren't any other well-drawn characters. Everyone else is flat, starting from his family, his boss and his opponents. To call them one-dimensional is giving them too much credit, I would say they are soulless and at some point I was really hoping for them to just die and leave us with the robots and Banderas. I can't fault the actors much, it's the script that didn't give them any chance.

The second problem is the plot. Although the story has potential, the plot fails at acquiring it. It won't take long to see that at some point the actions of the 'bad guys' really stop making sense, they are there just as a really poor excuse for some lame attempts at action sequences (I'm not going to detail this as to not give spoilers, suffice to say that the main pretext for the confrontation between the bad guys and Banderas is not necessary at all, if you stop to think about it for a minute given the situation of the humans in the movie and whatnot).

The last one is the soundtrack. It's absolutely atrocious and the sound doesn't fit with the images at all, especially the music sequences.

I will admit that the movie is entertaining for the most part. But that's it. It wastes an amazing potential, fails to explore itself and just throws some lines and some action at you that lacks logic, common sense and characters (save for Banders and the robots).