Review of Ex Machina (2015) by Gino M — 30 Dec 2015

This movie reminds me a lot of Source Code in that the best way to experience the suspense, mystery, and impact of Ex Machina is to know as little as possible or even nothing at all about it before seeing it. The less you know about the story going in, the more it feels like you're experiencing this movie THROUGH the protagonists eyes instead of being a 3rd hand observer. Ex Machina and Source Code set themselves apart and above their peers because of their compelling and well-written/performed characters whose actions and inactions are what dictate the direction of the story. Most mainstream sci-fi movies are entirely plot-driven with stories that are inflicted upon characters who then are only there to react to where the story is going without truly being involved. Ex Machina does use sci-fi cliches to tell it's story and it can even be argued that the story itself is cliched and somewhat predictable- but only if you watch the trailers. What made my experience of this movie so great is that the characters and dialog are so good I was just along for the ride every step of the way... they build up the tension so much and I'm thinking, "Holy shit, what the fuck is about to happen?!?" then 4/5 times the thing that happens is something that totally should've been obvious the whole time, and in any other movie, would've been. The other 1/5 times they completely throw you for a loop. My favorite scene of the whole movie, starts off with the same setup, building tension and nervousness, I'm wondering what is about to happen, then suddenly the lighting changes, music starts playing, and things get funky. I'm thinking, "there's no fucking way there's about to be a dance scene in this movie!!" Sure enough, not only did they go there but it was executed so precisely and was so unexpected, I couldn't stop myself from laughing, cheering, and having a fist-bump moment all the while being very glad they took the chance of including it because it made me so psyched to watch the rest of the movie.

The acting is incredible. Oscar Isaac is fantastic- he brilliantly rides a fine line between being a likeable yet socially awkward billionaire and being a menacing evil genius. And holy shit that man can dance! Ex Machina is now my favorite movie of 2015 and may end up in my Top 10 at some point after a rewatch or two and some thinking on it. I really wish I had been able to see this in theaters.

If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out- skip the trailers though.