Ex Machina | Teen Ink

Ex Machina

January 26, 2020
By Anonymous

 Ex Machina proves to be an exquisitely complex and sophisticated adventure that will completely change how audiences view the meaning of artificial intelligence. The movie revolves around Caleb Smith, a talented programmar at a gigantic Internet company and someone who seems to have a bright future at the company. In fact, Caleb is the lucky employee that wins a beloved contest that allows him the opportunity to go to the estate of Nathan Bateman, who just happens to be the CEO of the super successful Internet company, and has a gigantic private estate that is like living on a private mountain. This means that Caleb is going to spend an entire week with Nathan Bateman, and while Caleb is unsure about how he is going to spend the week, he knows that it's going to be a wonderful experience, especially when considering that Bateman is nothing short of brilliant and one of the smartest computer programmers to ever live. Building essentially the blueprints for his Internet company at only thirteen, Nathan Bateman is one of the world's leading experts in programming and computer science. This means that Caleb Smith has an opportunity to genuinely spend time with someone he so proudly admires, but when Caleb arrives, he quickly learns that things aren't necessarily as they seem. Things quickly take a sour turn when Nathan Bateman reveals to Caleb that he needs to sign a legal document that ensures he won't tell anyone about the secrets he is about to learn, and he's not even given the opportunity to receive a lawyer to advise him in signing the document. Going against his better judgement, Caleb Smith ends up adhering to Bateman's advice, and Caleb learns that Nathan Bateman has made some huge strides in the field of artificial intelligence. Upon learning this, Bateman explains to Caleb how he wants him to be a human component of a Turing test to help decipher if his artificial intelligence robot has really succeeded in being able to think on her own or if more improvements are needed. Using testing sessions, Caleb Smith attempts to test the consciousness and learning abilities of Ava, a robot that has artificial intelligence, and Caleb wants to see if she can do more than just answer questions. Caleb is curious if she can become conscious and aware of the situation, but the more time Caleb begins to spend with Ava, the more he realizes that Ava is far more human than he could have ever imagined. Quickly intrigued by Ava's beauty, Caleb finds himself realizing that Ava is signifcantly more self-aware of the situation and perceptive than Caleb could have ever predicted. As Caleb Smith spends more time at Nathan Bateman's private estate, he makes the startling discovery that things are not always as they seem and that Caleb isn't being the full truth of everything that is going on. 
 Ex Machina is a wickedly good and exuberantly exciting adventure that infuses together intense drama and a surprising amount of charming emotion that becomes essential to creating compelling characters. Understanding its purpose in a world full of evolving technology and the growth of artificial intelligence as a science, the movie feels like the movie that society needs when it comes to determining the true extent of the power and potential threats of artificial intelligence. Throughout the film, it becomes clear that the existence of artificial intelligence is not questioned by the concept of whether or not it deserves a place in society as a benefit or a detriment, but rather the movie explains how artificial intelligence has been created by Nathan Bateman now because sooner or later it would be created no matter what. For Bateman, artificial intelligence is more about when it will come to fruition, not if it is even able to be invented. This places a heavy emphasis on simply creating robots that can think for themselves, but the lack of consideration of consequences is where the movie's superbly, well-written, and terrifically composed plot comes in. Creating an adventure that wholeheartedly handles technology in a spectacular fashion, the movie is completely daring and a fantastical vision that treats technology in all of the right ways. 
 Ex Machina is a sleek and well-paced adventure that stands out amongst the crowd for its exceptionally unique style, mesmerizing qualities as a mystery, and its ability to be simultaneously elegant and intricate. The film handles plenty of difficult, overbearing topics, like the future of robots thinking for themselves and being conscious of their own existence, and takes these sophisticated, higher-level of thinking concepts and approaches them in a manageable manner. The focus of the movie is not the science behind the artificial intelligence, but the human components of the robots and results that spur out of the robots' creation. A true and complete revitalization of what it means to be a mind game, the film will keep audiences guessing until the very end, and that is in fact the true beauty of the movie: it's underappreciated level of unexpectedness. The less viewers know going into this dazzling and wondrous psychological thriller, the better for it. Clever and imaginative in its entirety, the movie slowly crafts together an artistic vision of technology's potential impact on the future and drags anticipating audiences alongside it. 
 Ex Machina is a majestic masterpiece of dramatic science fiction and creative fantasy that aids viewers in exploring some of the darker aspects of artificial intelligence. Manipulative and deceptive throughout, the film leads watchers on an empty goose chase as they realize that the true heart and core of the film lends itself to some truly unpredictable places. Often invigorating and epic when it comes to introducing bold ideas, the movie will have audiences completely guessing about Ava and Nathan Bateman's true intentions until the very end. In fact, after a few truly thrilling twists and turns, the movie will be sure to completely reinvent how audiences view artificial intelligence. While the movie may just initially come across as some ordinary cyborg flick, this couldn't be farther from the truth as the movie completely justifies receiving its impressive 92% from Rotten Tomatoes. Bewildering and consistency phenomenal, this is an absolute must-see in every sense.


The author's comments:

"One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction." - Nathan Bateman


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