A.I. Rising (2018) Reviews

• Predictable plot with a wasted premise that is compensated for by amazing atmosphere for a low budget sci fi

  sagniknath2019-03-07

  A Serbian Film (no not THAT one) about a man on an isolated spaceship, his only companion a female Android. Right off the bat, I have to admit there are specifically two points this SF feature got right: lighting and sound design. These two things genuinely enhanced the atmosphere of the movie and made you engaged in the universe it created. So many big budget SF movies Hollywood pukes out these days just fail to realize the importance of these two attributes in the genre. The premise, coming from a Socialist country, seems a bit .. of a stretch. Apparently , Capitalism is a plague in the future that has even infected whole galaxies and it is up to the ever righteous Ederlezi Corporation to send social engineers to these space colonies to restore normalcy the socialist way. That being said, I really wouldn't have had a problem of they actually fleshed out this premise even more. Instead, the film chooses to mainly concentrate on the chemistry between the cosmonaut and his robot sex partner. Which I guess wasn't bad on its own. The robot is played by an actual pornographic actress, the beautiful and enchanting Stoya, so there is absolutely no body double or vfx used during the sex scenes. Also, she is naked most of the time even when the script didn't call for a sex scene. However, I admire that her particular athletic,not voluptuous, figure and the incredible lighting actually transcends any sleaziness and gives her a more sublime aura. It helps amplify the other worldliness instead of just being gratuitous nudity. All in all, considering the low budget, I am very impressed. We genuinely need more atmospheric sci fi instead of another season of Star Trek Discovery.

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• old school scifi

  calvinw2019-03-20

  I can see why people review this movie poorly. There is little action, No galactic battle.No grand cgi. This is scifi from when I was a kid reading stories by Heinlein, Herbert and Asimov; watching Night Gallery and Twilight Zone. Where science and the future is used to ask questions about the human experience. This a story about free will and consent. A man is alone on a spaceship with a female android he can use and control. Is that satisfying? What happens if the android gains free will? If you like the old psychological sci fi and you're not a prude , you might enjoy this one. If sex and nudity offend you or you crave alot action, this isn't the movie for you..

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• more indie drama romance in sci fi setting

  italia762019-03-17

  I gave it 7 since its interesting film with good music, sound, setting, photography and I liked the actress. story-line could be better but the film is more indie drama in space then your ordinary sci fi film, and that is why for me its a 7. could not give it more because of the male actor and story-line .

• For people who like movies about space travel !

  leetheman-157012019-03-11

  A.I. Rising a.k.a. Ederlezi Rising is a low budget but really well-made scifier from Serbia focusing on the love story between a Slavic astronaut (does that make him a cosmonaut?) and a female cyborg sent to be by his side during the decade-long trip. Obviously, the pilot starts using the cyborg for his own pleasure, but she's so advanced that he falls in love with her. After falling in love, the astronaut wants to liberate her from the operating system and turn her into a person but the results are way off the mark. The film opens with an introductory text explaining that in 22nd Century capitalism sort of colonised the whole space and now socialism is back. The astronaut's trip is related to this issue as he is supposed to "install" an ideology in Alpha Centauri. I was intrigued by this ideological bend but film didn't develop that further even though it seems the filmmakers are interested in this-maybe they are saving that for a sequel? Anyhow, after this political introduction the film turns into a quirky relationship drama and all those considerations if a person is able to love a machine and vice versa. Direction is really elegant and arty. Photography is fantastic and this film looks like a major accomplishment for its crew. Stoya makes her mainstream debut in this film and all I can say is that she should change her day job and start doing serious cinema. She is talented and really persuasive as the cyborg chick. I'm a sucker for space travel films and this one is a quirky addition to this genre. Its science is not most accurate but the heartbreaks it shows are real. I definitely recommend this film to people who like movies about space travel and sci fi in general but also to people who like to see offbeat relationship dramas.

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• Space

  stamatron2018-02-26

  Usually I can review a movie in one short sentence, but now when I am faced with the task of reviewing this one in particular I couldn't think of much... Except "space" - and I am not referring to the location of the movie itself. This movie dealt with a very interesting topic of what it means to be human, both in the meaning of one's existence and the interactions that form what and who we are. And that could be exploited in depth but it wasn't, unfortunately. One could expect more drama from this topic, more emotion - mostly desperation, and of course more dialogue that spurs out of this desperation. In the first part of the movie I expected to see more frustration with the boundaries that limit an android in it's interaction with a live human being that would ultimately lead a human to take a big risk to change the android. In the other part of the movie, after the change, we could have seen more drama and desperation caused by this change, but it fell flat on this. We got a very mellow story, but a story nevertheless. If you take a great movie that deals with the exact topic - "Her" and compare the drama of it to this one, you can exactly see what I am trying to describe. Or for instance the episode S02E01 "Be right back" of "Black Mirror" where a late loved one can be brought back as an android. Or even the book "Solaris", which I could notice a slight homage to throughout the movie. Even at one point where you can see a detailed retina one can get reminded of the intro of the "Westworld" series, even the music score at that point is very reminiscent of that series. Westworld is also a good example of this topic exploited to some extent. On the other hand the visuals were very satisfying as well as the musical score. They reminded me a bit of "The Fountain" which is also a good example of the artistic visuals and a deep philosophical story. But that's it. It's just space. What was a bit of annoying for me is the design of the ship. If this vessel was a part of the rocket and set free after entering the orbit that would be scientifically accurate. The vessel as it was could not withstand the friction of the atmosphere. Also you don't launch a rocket 90 degrees up (well yeah at the first moment of the liftoff), it should enter the orbit in an angle, this was necessary to be portrayed if this vessel will use gravitational slingshoting further on... But this was not the goal of the story, so I left it be. Also the whole vessel interior was very small and ridiculously organised. (I understand why though) But a window positioned to look in between the back motors made no sense... Also a big question that arises is if Milutin took shorter voyages before but alone, what was he doing to pass the time? In that small interior there was nothing to do. This movie has a generous 8 stars from me (deserves 7 at best), since it is a first of its genre made in Serbia. I believe it took a tremendous effort to do all this and great enthusiasm of its creators. I salute them for it and I hope many movies like this to come, and even better of course!

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