Ex Machina 2015

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press: By going deep on a simple construct, Ex Machina establishes itself as a unique and deeply unsettling psychological thriller that's both necessary and unforgettable. Read more

Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com: Ex Machina is the best movie I've seen all year. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The writer and director, Alex Garland, keeps the movie so full of doomy atmosphere that expecting the worst sort of becomes a treat. But gradually the hypnosis wears off, the mystique dissipates, and banalities take over. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: It doesn't quite add up in the end, but it's heady stuff anyway, dense with moments of shivery beauty and frightening ideas. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: The year's most seductive high-IQ drama. Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: Garland's long-anticipated directorial debut synthesizes a dizzy range of the writer's philosophical preoccupations into a sleek, spare chamber piece ... Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Make no mistake, this is a film of ideas-sadder, quieter, more delicate than the Hollywood sci-fi standard-where every sliding wall of opaque glass suggests something about technology and the way people would use it. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It's great when a movie messes with your head. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Ex Machina" isn't quite "Citizen Kane" for an era of Internet tycoons, but it suggests that that's not such a bad idea. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Its aura of cool menace is largely attributable to Isaac, stealing his every scene as the smoothly bullying CEO, and production designer Mark Digby, who created the millionaire's sleek, high-tech mountain fortress. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Garland sidles up to some large ideas, some more provocative than others, and his premise hints at the costs of perpetual, omnivorous surveillance. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: [A] methodically absorbing sci-fi drama. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Ex Machina" takes its time, wrestling with questions of responsibility, morality and compassion while getting ever weirder. At its heart is Ava, played with a fine blend of innocence and quiet panic by Vikander. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Alex Garland brilliantly brings the past into the present with the near-future tale Ex Machina, a stark but dazzling meditation on intelligence, consciousness and morality that discreetly uses special effects in service of story, dialogue and character. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Ex Machina is beautiful and ominous and features another delicately nuanced performance from Isaac, who's quickly making a habit of them. But in the end, for all of Garland's ambition, his reach winds up exceeding his grasp. Read more

Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter: For dystopian future-shock fans who can look beyond its basic design flaws, Garland's feature debut functions just fine as superior pulp sci-fi. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Shrewdly imagined and persuasively made, "Ex Machina" is a spooky piece of speculative fiction that's completely plausible, capable of both thinking big thoughts and providing pulp thrills. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: It's the film version of an iPhone: small, expensive-looking and a touch overhyped - plus an addictive sales pitch for whatever Garland makes next. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Garland's primary concern is his flesh-and-blood characters, even though they are not nearly as showy (or beautiful) as his main attraction, the vulnerable, delicate girl with a heart of steel and wires. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: A neat psychological thriller for the digital age. Great performances compensate for a slightly slim story. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: "Ex Machina," despite the stutters, slowly finds its grip and starts to squeeze. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Although "Ex Machina" is small and talky - it has just four characters, and the only action comes at the end - it also looks good. The set direction is interesting and evocative. The effects impress but don't overwhelm. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: Reasonably diverting until its predictable (and predictably misogynistic) outcome. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: "Ex Machina" shows there's still life left in tales of artificial intelligence. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: While Mr. Garland wants to tease your brain, he's an entertainer, and in time ditches science and philosophy for romance and action. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Like stage actors who live and breathe their roles over the course of months, Isaac, Gleeson, and Vikander excel, and cast a spell. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: In the final analysis, the movie doesn't offer much about the subject that hasn't been previously explored, but the soil is fertile and many ideas germinate. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: The Swedish actress Alicia Vikander ("The Fifth Estate") infuses Ava with the just the right mixture of iciness, vulnerability and mystery. It's a star-making performance. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: I know, I know. You've seen all this A.I. stuff before. But never like this. Garland is hot for ethical shop talk on what defines humanity or lack of same. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: "Ex Machina" is an exquisite puzzle box of a picture. It baffles. It unsettles. It intrigues. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's hard to imagine another director squeezing as many shades and colors from his screenplay as Garland did, and from now on, it would be understandable if he insisted on directing everything he writes. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Ex Machina" is a tense tale of artificial love so intelligently crafted and edgy that I adored it myself. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: With a stellar cast and seductive look, "Ex Machina" is a sleek contraption for capturing our imagination. Read more

David Sims, The Atlantic: Ex Machina has a precise visual sheen that evokes David Fincher, and earns the sudden, quiet, powerful scares of his best work. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A clever film with one indelible performance from Isaac. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Ex Machina packs a scientist's brain inside a thrill seeker's body, much like the nubile robot within it. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: A chilly yet engrossing drama, elevated beyond its four-people-locked-in-a-house framework by the eerie beauty of the production design and the thoughtful curiosity of Garland's screenplay. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: A bit more intelligence would not have gone amiss. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: This futuristic take on age-old motivations, jealousy and betrayal among them, makes Ex Machina clever and engaging throughout. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: For a first-time director, Garland seems assured. His sharp, sparse dialogue and meticulous direction are equally compelling, and the trio of lead performances are top-notch. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Clever novelist and screenwriter Alex Garland makes a half-dandy directorial debut with Ex Machina, a sci-fi film that - like much of his work - fakes excitingly in the direction of breaking new ground before turning formulaic so fast. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "Ex Machina" is a smart, exceptionally stylish head trip. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Sizzlingly smart and agreeably sententious, Mr. Garland's film transcends some all-too-human imperfections with gorgeous images, astute writing and memorably strong performances. Read more