I was recommended to sit down and watch the 2023 action comedy "The Machine", and thus I opted to do so. I was not familiar with the movie prior to being recommended watching it, so I didn't really know what I was in for here. But I was told that Mark Hamill was on the cast list, which definitely got my attention.
Writers Bert Kreischer, Kevin Biegel and Scotty Landes put together a script and storyline that made for an adequate enough viewing experience. However, I must admit that I was a bit surprised that three writers collectively could not manage to conjure up a more outstanding script for a movie.
Now, don't get me wrong here, because "The Machine" certainly was a watchable enough movie, and had some adequately funny enough situations and moments as well. And while it isn't a bad movie, it just didn't strike me as being a particularly memorable or outstanding movie actually. It was sort of generic and somewhat mundane in ways. It is hardly a movie that I will return to watch a second time.
The acting performances in "The Machine" were good. I am not familiar with Bert Kreischer at all, but he was adequate in the leading role. It was, of course, a blast to see Mark Hamill on the screen and having a role as he did. It was, however, Iva Babic who stole the light here, because her performance was the best in the entire movie.
I am sure that there is an audience out there for a movie such as "The Machine". And I will say that the movie is certainly entertaining enough for a single viewing. But that is also the problem with the movie, because it doesn't have the contents to support more than a single viewing.
My rating of director Peter Atencio's 2023 movie "The Machine" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars.
