The Pod Generation

"The Pod Generation" had the potential to shine as a gripping Black Mirror episode, with a compact runtime of just one hour. However, it seemed to have been needlessly stretched to 111 minutes, weakening its impact and leaving the narrative feeling rather hollow. Throughout the film, there were several scenes (dream scenes, therapy sessions, ...) that felt exuberant and ultimately failed to contribute significantly to the story, resulting in a sense of dragging and stagnation.

Even with the extended runtime, "The Pod Generation" left viewers with a lingering sense of incompleteness, as though there were unresolved threads that needed further exploration. I would have loved further world building or an extension of the conspiracies that were teased. Without any of that, the story could have been tighter, focusing on its core themes and plot points, and it would have benefitted from a more concise approach to storytelling, akin to the thought-provoking brevity that Black Mirror is known for.

"The Pod Genetation" is a sci fi movie that critisizes the evolution of AI and how that can overtake even nature.

The story has a smooth start and it is obvious from the begining that something is off. The big eyes of the AI assistants, the wierd Pod company, the creepy 'psychologist', even the office environment along with the AI home assistant who was trying to be helpful but ended up dictating her owners' lives, everything lean in to a more horror genre, which the movie never lived up to. Rather, the story took a turn towards the more optimistic side, opting for a message where the human relationships and nature prevails. And, honestly, that was a nice touch.

However, the story did get stuffy towards the ending and there were some boring scenes as well. In addition, the humour was subtle and, sometimes, difficult to detect.

Finally, the performances were enjoyable.

This concept was really interesting...for the first 15 minutes. Sadly, they decided to go the super safe, PC route and have a social commentary on things like how a man carries the baby pod. The dialogue is akin to a bad podcast that questions the validity of child rearing vs pod rearing.

This concept could have been an awesome horror movie or sci-fi thriller where pod babies go wrong. Like a black mirror episode on the wrongs of growing a human in a pod, instead it's literally nothing.

The set design was okay, but besides that there's no chemistry, no intriguing storylines and what you get is 1 hour and 50 minutes of watching paint dry. Hope someone does a horror version of this though! Because that would be watchable. 3.8/10.

I can't remember the last time I watched a movie with as little conflict or drama as 'The Pod Generation'. Did they just think that their concept was so original and interesting that they didn't even need to add a hook of any sort to the script? It's really bizarre to watch. There is nothing at stake in the film. Nothing to look forward to or anticipate or even think about. The film just plods along for 100 minutes of nothingness.

The only thing that saves it from being completely unwatchable is the charisma of its two leads. About all you can really do is sit back and peacefully enjoy their interactions and screen time. If that sounds like a nice time to you, you might just enjoy this film.

'The Pod Generation' is a film completely unwilling to step out of its own comfort zone. The concept is mildly interesting (for the first 15 minutes) and that's about it. A generous 5/10.

Start's off strong and intriguing with dark undertones..... around halfway through the film however, it just suddenly turns silly. The behaviour of the two leads becomes juvenile and slapstick and it goes from alluding to being more of a thriller into a light hearted comedy. It also slows pace massively and the second half is just padded out with nothing really interesting happening and just more of a romance story.

This would have been better suited to an hour long short show, and it ending with a sinister tone. The two leads act well with what they are given. The dreamlike sequences were also overused massively and irrelevant to the story.

I liked the premise of the film and the visuals so it had that going for it. It got the sci-fi aesthetic right at least.