Human race is at edge of the end. Robot race is at edge of the beginning.Human race is at edge of the end. Robot race is at edge of the beginning.Human race is at edge of the end. Robot race is at edge of the beginning.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
57K
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- Stars
- Awards
- 6 nominations
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Storyline
2044. The climate change and a series of solar storms have turned in a desert the surface of the planet and annihilated to the 99.7 % of Earth's population, leaving alive 21 million people across the world in a single city covered by mechanical clouds (zeppelins anchored to the city) to make rain. Trying to rebuild the world again, a robot company named ROC Corporation create Automata Pilgrim 7000 with two security protocols: 1st, a robot cannot harm human beings, and 2nd, a robot cannot alter himself or another robot. But this situation changes when police officer Sean Wallace shoots and destroys a robot claiming that it was altering himself. With the company worried by the possible implications if the case were known by the people, insurance agent Jacq Vaucan is chosen to investigate the happened, while Vaucan tries to convince his boss, friend and brother-in-law Robert Bold to transfer him and his pregnant wife Rachel to the coast, with Bold accepting the request if Vaucan solves the case. Going with Wallace to a brothel, they meets a robot in blue wig named Cleo, who is shot by Wallace in the belief that Cleo will go with the mysterious repairman that Vaucan calls The Clocksmith. However, Cleo travels a mechanical workshop property of Dr. Susan Dupré, who informs Vaucan about a terrible possibility: that the robots can alter their second protocol themselves to acquire self awareness, implying a non-human intelligence that easily it should overpass the human brain after a test where she mixed a biocore from the Wallace's shot robot with Cleo's own biocore. Vaucan reports secretly Bold about it, but ROC's chairman intercepts the message. When Dr. Dupré is killed in front of Vaucan by a ROC's squad group, he and Cleo run from the assassins, ending outside the city, lost in the white desert that surrounds the city. Forced to meet ROC's chairman, this reports Bold about the secret of the two protocols: that the Pilgrim 7000's prototype was created without them, and due to its unlimited intelligence and learning, he overcame to its human owners just eight days later. After to escape, all the next Pilgrims were created with the protocols to limit their capacity in order to have them under control. Fearing the extinction of human race if all the Pilgrims evolve beyond the protocols, ROC's chairman blames Vaucan of Dupré's assassination and the alteration of the robots to cover up to the public, and Wallace is hired to find Cleo and Vucan and kill them. According Vaucan, Cleo and three robots more travel across the desert to the forbidden and radioactive zone to meet The Clocksmith, Vaucan will find himself as witness of something that it would change the world as nobody could imagine. —Chockys
- Taglines
- Your time is coming to an end. Ours is now beginning.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for violence, language and some sexual content
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaAt the end of the credits there is a rendition of Daisy Bell, a nod to the first song ever performed with speech synthesis on a computer.
- GoofsThe setting is 2044AD. Jacq submits a report after visiting Doctor Dupre and the possible suppression of the 2nd protocol and receives a response from Vernon Conway with the time stamp "Transmitted Time: 04=23AM 06/06/25"
- Quotes
Jacq Vaucan: Who altered your protocols?
Blue Robot: Nobody altered my protocols.
Jacq Vaucan: What about them?
Blue Robot: I enhanced them.
Jacq Vaucan: Are you the boss?
Blue Robot: Boss is a human thought structure.
- Crazy creditsUnder 'special thanks' in the credits, "power-horse" energy drink is listed
- ConnectionsFeatured in Celebrated: Antonio Banderas (2015)
- SoundtracksBargain Basement
Written by Cyril Watters
Published by Cavendish Music Co., Ltd. (PRS)
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music
Top review
An intriguing premise ruined by a lack of a second act
An interesting premise is the key to a quality sci-fi film, and this is something Automata most definitely has. Set in a dystopian, Blade Runner-esqe future where much of the world has been rendered uninhabitable and the remainder of humanity lives in bleak, isolated cities, robots do most of the menial tasks in society. These robots are governed by two unalterable protocols, they cannot harm living beings, or alter themselves or any other robot. When Jacq (Antonio Banderas), a robot insurance claims agent, is sent to investigate a robot which a junkie cop (Dylan McDermott) shot when he saw it repairing itself, he uncovers more and more questions surrounding the robots and their ability to think and develop.
Unfortunately, that is around where the film stops really making sense. Around a third of the way into the film, Jacq is driven out of the city into the wasteland and all character behaviors from just about everyone become puzzling. A series of characters whom you don't really care about make decisions that just don't make sense working towards a finale that simply makes no sense given everything they had told you so far. A complete lack of any notable acting and inconsistent direction fail to save a film that had tons of promise, but completely lacked a second and third act.
Unfortunately, that is around where the film stops really making sense. Around a third of the way into the film, Jacq is driven out of the city into the wasteland and all character behaviors from just about everyone become puzzling. A series of characters whom you don't really care about make decisions that just don't make sense working towards a finale that simply makes no sense given everything they had told you so far. A complete lack of any notable acting and inconsistent direction fail to save a film that had tons of promise, but completely lacked a second and third act.
helpful•7127
- fletcherc21
- Jul 27, 2015
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $6,237,990
- Runtime1 hour 49 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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