This film is well directed and acted. Very convincing, naturalistic performances. The film looks pretty good, too. I'd hire Noah Hutton as a director in a heartbeat.
The problem, as usual, lies with the script. I can live with the story inconsistencies, such as if these robots are so good at laying cable, why is the company even bothering to hire people? And why are they identifying people who have sabotaged the robotic cable layers through their DNA? So, wear gloves when you smash one of them with a rock. Seems to me that a much bigger problem would be that the human cable layers are being tracked through GPS every step of the way, so it would be pretty obvious who had crossed paths with a droid moments before it was wrecked or disappeared.
Also, the notion of "laying cable" by draping it all over the landscape, completely unprotected or buried is ludicrous--which, if the rest of the story had been pushed a little more definitely into the realm of absurdity, wouldn't have been a problem.
The real problem with this movie is that all of the obstacles placed in the path of the protagonists are just too easily overcome. They're never developed or escalated. Instead, they're dispatched with almost as soon as they arise.
I admit that I didn't understand entirely what some of those problems were. The main character has been issued some kind of bogus, existing account which causes him to be overpaid for his services. But I didn't quite understand how that led to him owing the people who secured the account for him money. Nor did I understand what any of that had to do with his credit card being declined. And I guess that it's just a happy coincidence that this doctor who originally programmed the cable-laying droids and built in a kill switch then went on to develop teas that will cure the protagonist's brother's condition. . . ?
This is what I mean when I say that the problems that arise are just too easily resolved. Also, an early scene in which the protagonist's van is duplicated, suggesting that the quantum computing network is producing some kind of quantum effects in everyday reality is never really paid off. Or did I just imagine that?
There are plenty of good ideas in this movie, but the story and drama are weak.
This is the type of story in which, initially, everything should look quite rosy (Hey, I've got a great new job just when I need it, I'm getting exercise and fresh air, and I'm being grossly overpaid) and then, as things progress, there's some larger, darker undercurrent that becomes apparent. There's always "a catch."
But it's obvious right from the beginning that a) the main character's account is a fake and that b) the cable layers are being exploited. There is no revelation beyond these, except for the handy solution to the droids being that they have a built-in kill switch. Phew. Problem solved.
The problem, as usual, lies with the script. I can live with the story inconsistencies, such as if these robots are so good at laying cable, why is the company even bothering to hire people? And why are they identifying people who have sabotaged the robotic cable layers through their DNA? So, wear gloves when you smash one of them with a rock. Seems to me that a much bigger problem would be that the human cable layers are being tracked through GPS every step of the way, so it would be pretty obvious who had crossed paths with a droid moments before it was wrecked or disappeared.
Also, the notion of "laying cable" by draping it all over the landscape, completely unprotected or buried is ludicrous--which, if the rest of the story had been pushed a little more definitely into the realm of absurdity, wouldn't have been a problem.
The real problem with this movie is that all of the obstacles placed in the path of the protagonists are just too easily overcome. They're never developed or escalated. Instead, they're dispatched with almost as soon as they arise.
I admit that I didn't understand entirely what some of those problems were. The main character has been issued some kind of bogus, existing account which causes him to be overpaid for his services. But I didn't quite understand how that led to him owing the people who secured the account for him money. Nor did I understand what any of that had to do with his credit card being declined. And I guess that it's just a happy coincidence that this doctor who originally programmed the cable-laying droids and built in a kill switch then went on to develop teas that will cure the protagonist's brother's condition. . . ?
This is what I mean when I say that the problems that arise are just too easily resolved. Also, an early scene in which the protagonist's van is duplicated, suggesting that the quantum computing network is producing some kind of quantum effects in everyday reality is never really paid off. Or did I just imagine that?
There are plenty of good ideas in this movie, but the story and drama are weak.
This is the type of story in which, initially, everything should look quite rosy (Hey, I've got a great new job just when I need it, I'm getting exercise and fresh air, and I'm being grossly overpaid) and then, as things progress, there's some larger, darker undercurrent that becomes apparent. There's always "a catch."
But it's obvious right from the beginning that a) the main character's account is a fake and that b) the cable layers are being exploited. There is no revelation beyond these, except for the handy solution to the droids being that they have a built-in kill switch. Phew. Problem solved.