All Rise...

Judge Gordon Sullivan just unplugged from the matrix.

The Charge

Your time is coming to an end…ours is just beginning.

The Case

I don't want to further any black-and-white dichotomies between artists and technicians, especially since we live in a world where it takes more and more technical know-how to get a movie on screen. However, there needs to be a balance between a film's technical elements—especially its visual effects—and the storytelling. Ultimately, it seems that audiences are willing to forgive so-so effects if the story is there, but not so forgiving of blockbuster effects with no story. There's a reason that most of the big flops in the last few years were effects-heavy and story-light. Because of this, I get a little nervous when those who've had a largely technical role step into the director's chair. Whether it's the director of photography, a fight choreographer, or a special effects artist, it's often the case that these creators put their specialty before the needs of the story. Sadly, that seems to be the case with writer/director Gabe Ibá ñez, who has a background in visual effects. His second feature Automata suffers because the gorgeous evocation of a dystopian future can't overcome the lack of a coherent story.

In the future, Earth's population is devastated by radiation, with robots tending to most of the tasks that humans used to perform, while the survivors hole up in cities to stay safe. However, something seems to be happening with the robots, as more and more are breaking their security protocols to modify themselves. It shouldn't be possible, so when it happens, Jacq (Antonio Banderas, Once Upon a Time in Mexico) is sent to investigate. He learns that the impossible is happening: the robots are learning to modify themselves, and he has to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Dystopian science fiction is one of the great ways that our culture has to talk about significant problems happening around us. Most people agree that the genre acts as a warning or wakeup call by transporting social problems into a technological future. It's the perfect way to tackle problems that are otherwise hard to see. Automata does viewers the service of at least gesturing towards that possibility by raising the question of sentience in robots. Since the film is released on home video just a bit after both Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence, at least the film can boast some relevance.

The problem, though, is that even this tiny gesture of relevance is only half baked. Automata is a junk drawer filled with the first six or seven apocalyptic/futuristic science fiction films you could name. There's a bit of Blade Runner in the robots, a bit of "futuristic" fashion a la The Matrix, some Terminator in the vision of the future and the rise of robots, etc. That's not necessarily a problem, but the film doesn't have anything to hold all these pieces together. Jacq isn't a compelling character, and he wanders around the movie having inane, exposition-laden conversations that just don't work. They're supposed to establish the world, but since we don't have compelling characters it is really hard to care about philosophical conversations concerning how and where sentience develops.

I wish I could say the film got a better Blu-ray release. The film's 2.35:1/1080p AVC-encoded transfer is merely average. This kind of film should sing with lots of good detail and inventive visuals to bring to life the apocalyptic surroundings. Instead, more often than not Automata has a flat, digital sheen to it that isn't terrible but also doesn't do the film any favors. Colors are also often washed out, which is appropriate to the setting but doesn't do much for the transfer. Black levels aren't great either, sometimes looking washed out or banded. It's not a totally awful transfer, but it's not great either. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is a bit better. Dialogue is clean and clear, with some nice activity in the surrounds during more tense moments. There's some good depth and clarity to the score as well.

Extras start with a five minute making-of featurette that's very EPK-style. It's light but does give a few hints about the production. There's also a trailer for the film.

In the film's defense, it does a solid job of visual evoking a post-apocalyptic world. The robots, which are largely practical, look great, and the world itself is sufficiently compelling. I can wish that the film populated this atmosphere with better characters, but I can't fault the world itself. The film's actors are also surprisingly compelling. Since they don't have much to work with, it's up to the individual actors to make their characters memorable. Banderas stands out, with lots of energy given over to Jacq. Melanie Griffith has a smaller role, but she's fun, and Robert Forster brings his usual gravity to the role of Jacq's boss.

Overall, Automata offers a compelling sci-fi world and decent performances, but those pleasures simply can't outweigh the lack of story or character development. Add in a so-so Blu-ray release and it's hard to recommend the film to any but diehard fans of scif-i or the actors.

The Verdict

Guilty of having too little to say.

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