Automata Blu-ray Review

3 Star Sci-Fi, Not a Happy Future for Us.

From writer, director and concept artist Gabe Ibanez (Hierro) comes a sci-fi story that is a mash up of many other stories, all of which were done far better than these bits put together into one film. This is the equal of none of the films that have preceded it, taking heavy influences from some great science fiction films/stories such as Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, I Robot, Alex Proyas and others.

Some time ago in 2044 solar flares scored the Earth killing over 99% of the human population. Suffering, the remainder tried to survive but with large areas so irradiated that nothing can live there, humans are trapped within certain designated areas. However, these are still dangerous, so ROC Corporation designed and built the Automata Pilgrim 7000, a robot designed to build walls around their cities and reclaim the planet for the humans. These robots are governed by 2 (laws) primary protocols (yes, just 2, very efficient), they must neither harm humans nor alter themselves or any other robot. So when police officer Sean Wallace (Gylan McDermott, Perks of Being a Wallflower) finds one tinkering with itself he puts a large hole in it. This brings in ROC insurance agent Jacq Vaucan (Antonio Banderas, The Expendables 3), who disbelieves Wallace as he is rather trigger happy. So does Jacq’s boss Robert Bold (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown) so he sends the job weary Jacq to investigate this impossibility. He is fed up of the hard life of the city where even the rain is artificial and with his wife Rachel (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Someone You Love) being very pregnant, he wants to get away to the coast. When Jacq finds a nuclear battery on the scrapped robot this changes things, as it could power a robot forever.

When he investigates further after Robert offers him a job on the coast, he finds a welding robot stealing parts. He follows it beyond the city walls (a complete no,no) and when he confronts it, it sets itself on fire. Now convinced that there is somebody modifying robots (the ‘clocksmith’) he goes in search of this fabled genius.

This is a good good film, just not as good as the films that is trying to re-invent. Still a good addition to your Blu-ray collection as Banderas does a great job of being the disgruntled worker, that has his eyes opened to humanity’s future, just put it at the far end of your shelf.

Watch the trailer here.

Available to Order Now.