boldautomatic

So the story's about a Special Ops type man who dives into a Westworld-style environment to rescue his ex-partner. She's been kidnapped and forced into a disturbing world of indulgence for wealthy men, with the women relegated to something close to AI servitude.

It's a decent watch. The plot's fairly predictable for the most part, but the final ten minutes deliver a clever twist that raises some thought-provoking questions. Unfortunately, those ideas are left hanging and never really explored, which feels like a missed opportunity.

That said, it's an entertaining 90 minutes if you like this kind of thing. The stunts are excellent, the production values hold up well, and there are a few moments that lift it above your standard action-thriller fare.

I don't agree with some of the harsher reviews, to be honest: the acting is solid enough, with a couple of standout performances. And all the fuss about the nudity? Probably coming from Americans. Odd how there's plenty of outrage over nudity, yet the extreme violence barely gets a mention. Since when is nudity worse than violence? Makes you wonder.

The whole film relies on the premise that there is supposed to be an instant attraction between Irons and Binoche. But they're about as magnetic as a block of wood. How can we believe them when there is simply nothing between them?

Ok, the acting is decent and everyone tries very diligently to do their job, but the overall lack of oomph makes it hard to watch. Unbelievable, in other words. Why is she so attracted to him from the word go when there's nothing there? Why do they look into each other's eyes as though they're watching beige paint drying on a wall? Why is it worth watching this?

Thus it makes it easy to give up watching this after 20 minutes as I could not think of a single reason to carry on with it.