Review of Automata (2014) by Jrmegio — 08 Apr 2015

Another Sci-Fi apocalyptic film has hit the big screen, but rather than zombie virus, alien invasion, or war against other species it is the sun who causes the earth's demise. The sun is now spouting up continuous solar flares, an eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface, causing electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, as with radio frequency communications and power line transmissions. Making the earth a large radioactive dust-bowl.

When a cop reported a robot fixing itself which is a violation of a protocol, Jack Vaucan a burned-out ROC's insurance agent was assigned to investigate, so that the company can avoid future costs that will ensue and to stop a clockwork from altering its robots to maintain the contract with the city's government.

This film served as a great entertainment in the sci-fi genre with its interesting plot, the depiction of earth's current state and the type of people living in that era. It is the first time that I watched Banderas in a film where he is not suave or Zorro character that my mind had boxed him in. Rather I saw him portray a normal employee that dreams of having a bright future for his family and also being burned-out of his everyday life and has been dreaming of living in the old days. This role has a sizable disparity from his last role in the movie Expendables 3.

This is a new genre entry for Ibanez a distinct taste comparing to his previous films. There is a scene that would make you question the robots protocols and would be better if they renew the scene so it would be more fitting to the story however its minor and unnoticeable even on the first watch. What I praise in this film is the main character Vaucan since he is so relatable to an average person. Comparing to other sci-fi films' main characters which are usually engineers, astronauts, physicists or scientists who are likely to save the world. On the other hand, we have an insurance agent wanted to finish the task that he is assigned and becomes involved in a larger than life truth about the future of humanity. This makes him so appealing because he is not attempting to be a hero or has the ability to solve what people are undergoing rather he is an ordinary man, with an ordinary job, wanting to live an ordinary life.

This film is not the first of its kind and I bet it's not going to be the last. Automata's easy to follow and fascinating plot is a well worth of your time.