Time for some random sci-fi movie i put in my Amazon Prime Video watchlist months-to-years ago to actually get seen, and the dice chose 2013’s The Machine by director Caradog D. James.
In the future, the United Kindgom is on the verge of war against China over the Taiwan issue, and in an underground military base, a scientist produce a cybernetic implant that allows brain damaged soldiers to regain lost functions, with the first test subjects showing lack of empathy and memory loss, but eventually the research leds to better cyborgs, which loses the ability to speak but develop an even more efficient method of comunication amongst them.
the project might even go one step further when a new researcher, Ava, is brought on board for her work on IA, despite the lab director being wary of her countercultural opinions on the subject, as her talent might lead to finally develop a self-aware and conscious android.
Needless to say, something goes wrong along the way, it’s a sci-fi film about cyborgs and it doesn’t exactly sound original…. like at all.
This sounds like pretty typical cyborg cyberpunk sci-fi stuff all the way, and it is, since there’s really no point discussing the plot any further, if you have ever seen one of these you know things might play out, but it’s also undeniable The Machine is surprisingly very well crafted for a low budget UK production, and you tell only when they bring out some special effects later into the third act.
Again, not original, but it looks very good for something with less than 1 milion budget, they really took advantage of the limited locations while also opting for a realistic approach to the usual themes, leaning hard into the “science” side of science fiction but also managing to avoid pacing issues or having it become too ponderous for its own good.
And despite being fairly predictable, it has a decent atmosphere, some nice ideas of its own,, and some style to it, with the solid direction and good acting by the cast (which include Toby Stephens of Black Sails fame in the lead protagonist role alongside Caity Lotz, whom was in Mad Men, the Death Valley tv series, as well as Arrow and DC Legends Of Tomorrow) making up for the typical and not incredibly developed characters, the weaker part of the film, admittedly.
For a debut film with this budget, it’s really quite solid, and makes The Machine a surprisingly decent-to-good, worthwhile sci-fi watch despite its derivative nature, especially as it’s not a bloated affair at all, and mostly likely you can watch it on your streaming services of choice.
So yeah, this time around i didn’t fished out a stinker (at all) from the Amazon Prime Video selection, which is kinda surprising.
Wise Cafe (International) 