Agente do Futuro

I am myself to blame for only looking at IMDb ratings and the occasional movie trailer from the mall screens, but I still can't believe that this is not a movie that everyone is talking about. It's great!

A post apocalyptic movie made by Spain and Bulgaria, it shows an insurance agent (the only people who actually do any motivated detective work :) ) trying to find out what is going on with robots behaving strangely. Two laws are restricting said robots from harming people and from altering any robots and it appears someone has found away around these hardcoded rules.

The film reminded me of Blade Runner, obviously, but it went a slightly different direction, more akin to Sector 9. The gruesomeness of the dirty city and the violent slums outside it is clear and uncompromising - think Brazil meets Cidade de Deus. The acting is good, slightly overemotional in the case of Antonio Banderas - but he is Spanish, so we understand, and completely balanced by the coolness of the Blue Robot (Javier Bardem, lol). I couldn't really find a problem with the direction and the script was great!

So, bottom line: a wonderful film. It shows that it is not the highest budget movie in the world, but it more than compensates through story, details, acting and even casting. I thought McDermott's character was a very good one to explain the overall attitude of humans towards robots and it felt like they could have added some more to it. If you liked Blade Runner you will love this movie! See how a little European vision can change how a movie feels to you.

Automata' (2014) is a critically underrated and atmospheric science- fiction thriller in the same vein as 'I Robot' and 'Blade Runner'. It boasts excellent visual effects, as well as an engaging and intelligent story. While it borrows from other science fiction it does so successfully, especially the atmospheric and decaying world we're thrusts into from the beginning.

The story centers around Antonio Banderas's character, Jacq Vaucan - a world-weary insurance agent for a robotics corporation whose job is to investigate robots violating their protocols which are one: harming any form of life, and two: they can neither repair themselves nor alter another robot in any fashion. On the trail of a robot Vaucan discovers a robot stealing parts in an apparent attempt to alter itself. This leads him to the clock master - a fixer who may have just succeeded the second protocol.

Automata is a throwback to thoughtful science fiction. It's not for the feint of heart but if you're engaged and buy into the world and the premise then you'll be rewarded. The film surprised me in a lot of ways - especially for such a relatively small budget but imagery is fantastic and the effects are mostly practical, and built with little computer generated imagery save for some backgrounds and action scenes which make it that much more realistic.

It's slower and probably has less action but if we're comparing it to what it will inevitably be compared to, 'I Robot', Automata is a better movie. More thoughtful, grittier and executed a whole lot better visually. It's not a perfect flick by any means but it's worth watching and deciding for yourself.

7.5/10

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.

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.

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.