Thursday, August 21, 2014

Happy Trailers - Automata (2014)

Set in the year 2044, Automata follows the adventures of insurance agent Antonio Banderas who is investigating what appears to be emerging self-awareness in robots.

The story isn't unique; however, the trailer gives the impression that this might be a more thoughtful version of the dreadful I, Robot. The world has a very Blade Runner feel to it. You have a collapsing eco-system, a mix of high and low tech and a mono-color palette (black in Blade Runner, white in this film), as well as the subject, how artificial intelligence might come about and the ramifications. Visually, the tech and city designs we see in the trailer look good. And the cast is serviceable.

Of course, if this film doesn't want to be a generic action/effects orgy, it needs to have a good story. And that is something that you don't get a sense of from the trailer. It looks interesting - I like the idea of a non-standard hero being brought in (insurance guy) and that the sign of emerging self-awareness are robots modifying their bodies. It will also be interesting to see what they do with the concept of a robot refugee camp. How much time will be spent developing an AI society? Will this be an examination of where technology could be taking us, both good - creating a new form of intelligence - and bad - the eco-collapse that the world appears to be in the midst of? Or will we get robots running around doing sinister thing? From the tone of the trailer, this does not appear to be the case. However, the only way to know is to get my butt in a seat when the film comes out. And, the trailer presents enough of the story and visuals to make me want to do that.

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