Ex Machina: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
After winning a competition to spend a week at the mountain estate of his company’s brilliant CEO (Oscar Isaac ), programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) arrives to discover he has been chosen to take part in a study of artificial intelligence. Sworn to secrecy and cut off from the outside world, Caleb meets his subject, a beguiling and seductive android (Alicia Vikander) — and is plunged into an A.I. experiment beyond his wildest dreams in this epic thriller charged with heart-stopping suspense.
This was a first time viewing for me. I’ve always heard since the movie came out in theaters that this film was one not to miss. Well, I missed it and to finally get a chance to see it in this format had me excited. The movie’s plot plays a lot on the recent events of the advancement of artificial intelligence and that in itself is kind of scary. This film takes it one step further and we see an android walking and talking like any other human being. As the film continues it does pose a lot of interesting questions as to the creation of androids in general. It really does get you thinking about that kind of thing and that’s the one thing that I really loved about the film. Even after it was over I couldn’t help but think about the “What Ifs” of it all. I continued to be on the edge of my seat and kept anticipating what was going to happen next. Issac, Gleeson and Vikander each gave everything they had to their respective roles to the point that it almost felt like I was seeing their stories unfold from a window. I was immensely impressed by them all and with that I can easily recommend this film to everyone that hasn’t seen it yet. You definitely won’t be disappointed. 9/10
4K Presentation:
This film isn’t a huge big budget production but it does have the fantastic special effects to “wow” you in 4K. Everything about this film lends itself very nicely to the format mainly because of various colors that are used throughout. They are so vivid and the clarity that HDR brings makes this an impressive watch. There are also a good amount of scenes in the film that do take place in darker or dimmer areas and the HDR also does a great job at brightening those moments out as well. There are some movies that don’t need to be upticked to 4K……this isn’t one of them. Everything about the picture quality has been improved in a great way.
Special Features:
Through the Looking Glass: Making Ex Machina – An excellent 40 minute feature that digs into the philosophical side of things as well as some of the technical aspects of making the film.
SXSW Q&A with Cast and Crew – A really great hour long panel about the film with Alex Garland, Oscar Isaac, Rob Hardy, Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury.
Behind the Scenes Vignettes – 8 different features here that go into everything from casting, the score, characters and the director.
