Netflix quietly adds ‘masterpiece’ sci-fi thriller
It was written and directed by The Beach author Alex Garland.
Netflix viewers can now watch a science fiction film labelled one of the best of the decade in which it was released.
Released in 2014, Ex Machina marked the directorial debut of Alex Garland, who rose to prominence with his 1996 novel The Beach, which was later turned into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
He also went on to write the Danny Boyle films 28 Days Later and its sequel, 28 Years Later, as well as Never Let Me Go and Dredd.
Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina followed a programmer who is invited by his CEO to administer the Turing test to an intelligent female humanoid robot.
Made on a $15million (£11.3million) budget and grossing $36.8million (£27million), the movie was critically acclaimed.
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It was nominated for five Baftas, two Oscars and a Golden Globe award.
Ex Machina starred Domhnall Gleeson as a programmer (Picture: A24)To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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Previous Page Next Page‘As thoughtful as it is thrilling, Ex Machina is a razor-sharp and nimble character drama which takes a controlled nosedive into exhilarating sci-fi horror,’ Digital Spy wrote in its review.
‘Its thought-provoking themes will gnaw at your own humanity long after the shocking finale has bowed,’ Sky Cinema shared.
‘By going deep on a simple construct, Ex Machina establishes itself as a unique and deeply unsettling psychological thriller that’s both necessary and unforgettable,’ Associated Press added.
Meanwhile viewers called it ‘arresting’, ‘compelling’, and a ‘must see’.
This week Ex Machina was added to Netflix, where people can tune in for the first time, or revisit the film again.
He is asked by his CEO to administer the Turing test to a humanoid robot played by Alicia Vikander(Picture: A24)Speaking to The Dissolve at the time of the film’s release, Garland spoke about why he believed it was hopeful, despite it presenting a horrifying story about AI.
‘Well, the horror is with people,’ he said.
‘Really, the hope is that AIs might be more reasonable than we are, basically. There are so many things we do that we shouldn’t do. So many. The thing that freaks people out about AIs is, they think they’re going to be unreasonable. They think they’re going to destroy us and outlive us. And I would see it in an evolutionary type,’ he said.
‘They’re not distinct from us, they are a continuation. You could roughly draw an analogy there with children. What we ask of children almost more than anything is that they outlive us. And we would also hope that there’s lots of stuff that goes with that: We would hope their lives would be at least as good as ours, and hopefully better.
‘Now, if you frame an AI in that way, what’s the threat? I’m one of those people who think we’re going to die on this rock. That’s what going to happen. A few of us might die on Mars, but the rest of us are going to die on this rock. And AIs might be all of us that survive. They might go to places we can’t go to.
The film marked Alex Garland’s directorial debut, which came after his novel The Beach was adapted for screen (Picture: 20th Century Studios)He went on: ‘And why would you want to stop that happening? We don’t have a choice about dying on this rock. Some part of us might keep going, and why would you want to be in the way of that? I know that sounds ridiculously long-term futurist, but that is actually what I believe.’
But when asked about the potential for a sequel, he declared: ‘Nah, f*** that. I’m not interested.’
‘When you’ve worked on something for two years, what you really want to do is start something new, not do it again.’
In the years since Garland has written and directed the films Annihilation, Men, and Civil War.
Ex Machina is streaming on Netflix.
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