Simulant

For a normally breezy 95 min runtime, this film felt endlessly long. It's terribly slow pacing was part of the problem, but mostly the issue here was the overall underwhelming filmmaking. From the story that's been done many times before and better that felt less intelligent and more artificial, to the directing that lacked any real urgency from scene to scene with annoying, predictable and repetitive sub-narratives. There was a lot of style, but very little substance to be an engaging viewing, even in its short runtime. I found myself constantly impatient for something more suspenseful and thrilling to happen, that never did. Even the all-star casting couldn't elevate the depressingly-toned slow story. Director April Mullen's lack of effective cast direction made it feel like all the actors were half asleep reading their lines. I will however say that the cinematography was excellent, the score very fitting, and the S/VFX quite passable, for a low budget B film.

Where do I begin. Well, for one thing, the acting and photography/coloring/effects is great. I don't always judge a movie by how it looks, but sometimes I do and I give this one extra points for looking very good. Every shot is spot-on and whoever was hired to do the job should get a raise. The sound quality was excellent and that person should also get a raise. This was of course made by HBO and they have enough money to to make a high quality film. That being said, the story is just not done right. I feel like whoever wrote the screenplay should have put more thought into it. Then again, I know how difficult it can be to be a writer and create a screenplay that a director can use to make a successful movie. I think it was an OK movie. Not something I would want to watch again. Someone else might like it.

I really enjoyed this as it keeps you guessing right until the end. You are never quite sure how it it going to play out or how the characters will react to certain tense situations. It's well acted by all and feels like a possible future. It has a lot of soul considering it is a story about androids and AI.

The violence necessary to the story is blessedly kept to a minimum and there is very little gore, for a change. If you want an ultra noisy wham, slam, bang sort of film, then this one will disappoint you as it has rather a slow but very interesting plot development that is also a welcome change.

The comparison to Blade Runner was going to be inevitable. Simulants are replicants, and they have become more advanced where self-awareness and autonomy are becoming a social problem, so an enforcement agency tracks down rogue simulants. Sound familiar? "More human than human" of the Tyrell Corporation is replaced with Nexxera's "simulants are as close to human as humanly possible". It would be generous to say this movie pays homage to the 1982 classic-there are plenty of easter eggs. This is, unfortunately, a Canadian low budget production that doesn't do it much justice.

Cast has many recognizable Canadian B actors, some regulars in the sci-fi scene. Of course, the most recognizable is Simu Liu of recent Marvel universe fame.

There are some salvageable aspects that explore bioethical issues we are at the cusp of having to address for real. But the movie lacks any subtlety in conveying the gravitas. The AI "precepts" are repeated multiple times to remind the audience, rather than work them into the screenplay, which to me is lazy writing. The "ominous" soundtrack plays on a loop throughout the movie, a poor attempt at creating tension and suspense. CGI is minimal, and the rest are making the most out of budget props and industrial locations.

I'm actually surprised this was picked up by HBO Max and not Syfy, where it's would find a more appropriate home and audience. It's not entirely unwatchable, if you adjust your expectations.

Simulants are artificial humanoid robots. They are restricted by programming, but someone is trying to hack them. Artificial Intelligence Compliance Enforcement agent Kessler (Sam Worthington) apprehends Esme (Alicia Sanz), a simulant which had its programming altered. Evan (Robbie Amell) and Faye (Jordana Brewster) are a loving couple, but it's not what it seems. Casey (Simu Liu) is a hacker.

This premise has been done before. It is straight out of the Asimov's 3 laws of robotics which is eighty years old. I kept waiting for something new, but this is mostly derivative. The freshest aspect may be Simu Liu having sex with Alicia Sanz. It's still a little unusual in Hollywood for an Asian man to have sex with a white girl. The Evan-Faye couple does have an interesting reveal, but that surprise reveal can't be done more than once. I was expecting it for all the other reveals. There is potential for something else, but the movie doesn't go there until the last scene. I do want to mention the filming locations. For the most part, I've never seen those places and that's good. It's a side issue, but it does add a little freshness to the movie.