by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
What will movies about artificial intelligence tackle in the future? That is really challenging to say, when so many great films have tackled these themes in such impressive and impactful ways. The Blade Runner films have set the bar so high by looking at what life is about and how technology fits in. Her looks at the possibilities of love and real attachment with A.I. Steven Spielberg (through Stanley Kubrick) tackles plenty of these themes as well. The issue is whether anything new can reach the levels of such recent wins, like Ex Machina.
Does Simulant reach those heights? Not by a long shot. There are a lot of ideas thrown around in this Ryan Christopher Churchill-written, and April Mullen-directed, thriller. Sure, there are uprisings, hackings, full-blown robots, and more, but it never feels as important and engrossing as it should. These very ideas are handled with better care and substance in the aforementioned movies. Simulant, though, seems content with running through ideas like diner mints, and focusing on a lifeless romance that never feels connective for the overall film.
What about from a filmmaking standpoint? Mullen does not have a great track record, with one of her most recognizable films being the shameless and vapid lesbian erotic thriller, Below Her Mouth. That film never rises above being an expensive softcore porn film, and Simulant is never able to transcend its identity as a hodgepodge of ideas and plot threads. It has some decent effects, including a robot which is introduced in its opening moments, but while the visual palette is meant to feel industrial, it instead feels hollow and gray.
Do the actors elevate this material to at least elicit some emotions from the audience? The tricky thing is, this is not the type of cast that will elevate material. Sure, some of the performers are strong, and have been standouts in other projects, such as Simu Liu, but most of them have looked great thanks to some strong direction, plenty of material to run with, or the right character to sink their teeth into. Sam Worthington was the former chosen one of Hollywood around the release of Avatar, but has since fallen… hard. He has it in him, but this is not the film to get it out of him. Robbie Amell and Jordana Brewster are saddled with anchoring this film in many ways, and neither is convincing in their attempts to do that.
Does Simulant have anything worthwhile? Only pieces. There are certainly ideas that would be cool to explore. They would also lend themselves to great films with the right talent behind them. But it is lacking in cinematic talent. Many of the pieces are serviceable, but when saddled with a script like this, they are left to squander. Simulant has too many ideas and not enough substance. No one really stands out in this overall inert thriller which leaves you wanting so much more out of its potential.
Score: 3/10
Simulant is currently playing in theaters, and is available on VOD
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