The Machine (2013)

Synopsis

Storyline:
Two artificial intelligence engineers come together as they work to create the first ever self-aware artificial intelligence. A veteran AI engineer secretly hopes to develop technology to help his diseased daughter, even if it means funding comes from the powerful Ministry of Defence (MoD). His new partner, a young woman gifted in the field of AI, is brought on after her breakthroughs are recognized by the MoD. Things go wrong when the MoD takes over and advances the researchers’ work to the next level, teaching the AI to kill and follow MoD instructions with its new and nearly indestructible body.
Written by
Paul Threatt
User Reviews: I very much enjoyed this. There’s nothing particularly novel about the story line, which is a standard AI old chestnut about what happens when AIs start getting rambunctious. But the script is literate, the leads quite attractive (especially Dennis Lawson as a baddie), the direction sharp, and the photography brilliant, so it’s all eminently watchable. Caity Lotz in particular is a revelation–she’s great. Plus there’s the fun wrinkle of watching the AI soldiers troop around, as it were, speaking their own language, wondering what they’re saying (although as the film goes on it starts becoming clear). Predictable, but in a good way.