Artificial Intelligence. A.I. One of the biggest obsessions of our time, at least cinematically speaking. And how could it not be? It’s a story as old as time: Frankenstein creates his monster who then has to deal with obvious existential angst who then fights for the ability to both survive and experience (and who scares the shit out of us in doing so). Only nowadays this chilling sci-fi tale is getting closer and closer to reality (I mean, in 2016, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that there definitely is top-secret/creepy-as-fuck A.I. already existing in some hidden lab somewhere), making these once over-the-top and distant spook stories seem more and more plausible. Enter “Morgan”, the newest in Hollywood’s A.I. vs. humans repertoire crafted by the son of one of the genres godfathers, Ridley Scott. Young Luke Scott is following in his father’s footsteps, and if this film is any indication, he should stick around for a while.
Granted, the story isn’t necessarily a completely innovative one, which is to say we have seen this concept before a number of times. “The Terminator” franchise, “Blade Runner”, “A.I.”, “Alien”, the list goes on. That shouldn’t be a knock on it, though, because like slasher films and action movies starring buff handsome guys, it’s just a specific genre that captivates us and isn’t going away anytime soon. Despite this, “Morgan” will inevitably be compared to last year’s wonderful Alicia Vikander breakout-vehicle “Ex Machina”, and I’m not saying it’s better than “Ex Machina”, but I do think it deserves to be judged on its own merits. What matters isn’t really that we have seen this type of movie before, what matters is whether it is good or not; whether it is executed with a vision and has something cool to say or not. And I’m happy to say, “Morgan” is good.
From the first frame, you can see Scott’s natural eye for scenic photography and wide angles. Beautiful shot after beautiful shot make up the first few minutes of the movie and it really is a pleasure to watch, setting a good tone. You feel safe, like this director knows what he’s doing and that you’re in for an experience. His cinematographer and music composer help the film come to life too, and their contributions should not be overlooked.
Kate Mara is fascinating as a no-nonsense and calculating risk-management consultant called upon to evaluate the bio-engineered being in question, Anya Taylor-Joy is effectively eerie and endearing as the titular character, and we get a whole bunch of other gems of performances from the cast (Rose Leslie of “Game of Thrones” fame is in this, and man I can’t wait to see her in more movies. You know nothing John Snow). Did I mention Paul Giamatti is in this? An electrifying scene between him and Taylor-Joy is true quality and really sets up the introspective backbone of the film. So yeah, great performances all-around is what I’m saying.
A good directorial hand, stellar performances from a talented cast, and a decent screenplay make “Morgan” a nice new genre entry into Hollywood’s A.I. catalogue. If sci-fi and the-monsters(?)-we-create movies are your thing, definitely go see this when it comes out in theaters September 2nd. Look out for Luke Scott stuff in the future too, I know I will (his next project is a mid-19th century frontier exploration/zombie film. I’M IN).
