Don’t know what to watch? Are you overwhelmed by how many movies there are nowadays? Gordon Briggs’ Reel Talk is here for you. Every month, this column will highlight three films from movie history that are worth your time.
As artificial intelligence becomes more common in our lives, I wanted to look back at three science fiction films from three different decades. Not only do these films explore the growing role of advanced technology in everyday life, they illustrate our anxieties over being replaced by that same technology.
“Colossus: The Forbin Project” (1970)
As our use of artificial intelligence and the loss of privacy become more prominent, movies like “Colossus the Forbin Project” seem downright prescient.
In another memorable entry in the sinister super computer subgenre, we follow the creation of a massive computer system, dubbed “Colossus,” tasked with controlling the country’s defenses. However, when this computer becomes sentient, and its intelligence and power start to grow rapidly, the machine’s creator must stop his creation before it controls the entire world.
That premise is intriguing enough — what gives the film its edge is when Colossus insists on maintaining constant surveillance over mankind and the scientists who created him, this leads to a tense game of deception between creator and creation as he secretly attempts to destroy the computer while still under its watchful eye.
Sure, some of its gender politics haven’t aged as well (Did they have to write the female scientist like that?), but the inventor vs. invention angle is smart and the ending … Oh man, that ending is refreshingly bleak. ★ ★ ★
“A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001)
Watching all these artificial intelligence movies has only made me appreciate “A.I.” even more. When I first saw it back in 2001, I had the usual complaint that ‘A.I. was a good movie that goes on 20 minutes too long.’ However, over the years I’ve come to admire the nuances of the film’s story and how it fearlessly blends together opposing styles.
Here, we follow the tale of David, a robotic boy who sets out to become ‘real’ after he’s abandoned by his adoptive owners. Visually the film’s look is quite strong.
Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski gives the movie a crisp dreamlike palette that effectively blends computer-generated imagery with flesh and blood actors. Plus, I completely believe in David’s innocence and that’s what gives the film power.
Specifically, I enjoy how Spielberg/Kubrick take the child-like sentiment of a kid’s fairy tale and stand it alongside the adult pessimism of a science-fiction dystopia. Part of the heartbreak of this film is how much David genuinely believes he can be made into a ‘real boy’ and slowly realizes that grown-ups lie, the world is cruel, and that he’s not the only robot child out there. That scene where Jude Law speaks his final words still gets to me: “… Remember me. I am. I was.” ★★★1/2
“Ex Machina” (2014)
My last film is a strange and satisfying sci fi movie about a female robot and her makers. Science fiction is filled with stories about men using technology to try and create the ideal woman, but “Ex Machina” was something special.
The story begins with a shy computer programmer being entranced with a female android. Slowly, the film reveals its more Gothic influences, and we begin to wonder just who in the story is actually human and who is not. Rather than just looking neat, I like how the film gets inside our heads. The interplay between the three primary characters is nuanced and psychological because each character has a different agenda. The result is a memorable robot movie that plays like “Blade Runner” meets “Bluebeard.” ★★★1/2
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