Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Automata'

Written by Scott Edwards

What does it mean to live? Is it just going along with your day, breathing in and out and not changing your routine, or is it doing something different? We all have our daily routine, but that is all it is, a routine, and we are missing out on much more of what life has to offer us. Sticking with one thing is fine, as we all have our comfort zones, but if you are not willing to branch out and do something more, you are not living life the way it was intended to be lived.

The world is no longer safe as the radiation from the sun has risen so high, that it has killed off ninety nine percent of the world’s population. Needing to find a way to survive, the ROC Company has been able to build a series of robots that have constructed safe cities above ground so the remaining population can live life as it was intended. With only two main protocols to follow, the ‘Pilgrims’ have become the saviors in the world and man has to depend on these machines for everything.  But not everything is as pleasant as it seems as insurance investigator Jacq Vaucan is about to find out.

Being called out for several complaints about the machines, Jacq is getting fed up with his job. Everyone is trying to take advantage of the ROC Company and he has to prove all of the claims to be irrelevant. With one of the robots protocols being that they cannot hurt or let harm come to a living thing, Jacq has to make sure that all of the machines are working properly, no matter how silly the claims may appear. But the second protocol is what Jacq has a problem with, in that no machine can modify itself or another robot. Although he has not seen any of the machines doing this, there are people who can make the modifications to the robots and there is an underground movement to help allow the robots to do whatever they want. But there is still more to that as Jacq bears witness to a robot trying to kill itself to protect a secret.

With this being a violation of the second protocol, Jacq is forced to look to the people that have made a living making the modifications to the robots for answers. Finding out that not even the best of the best can make the machines bypass the protocols, Jacq has become a target for the company he has worked for, for many years. Having to put his trust into a robot that has been modified, Jacq finds himself witnessing a form of evolution by the machines as he is dragged to safety through the radioactive desert. Wanting to return home, the robots will not deviate from their plan as it is not safe for them to return, even if a human commands them to. Jacq does not know what to believe as a rescue party comes to get him from the machines, especially when they are gunned down in front of his very eyes. As he has been protected by the robots, he returns the favor and kills a human in front of the robots. As humans do not have the same protocols as the robots, the machines are fascinated by the act and a new conversation is started that will leave Jacq less and less sure about what it means to be alive.

I am still blown away by this movie as you get to watch two different species striving for the same thing. I enjoyed how Jacq had to come to terms with what was happening to him with his new robotic friends while being dragged through the desert. As the robots slowly change before his eyes, he sees that what they are doing is beyond their protocols, but they will not allow any harm to come to him. When he comes to see what they are trying to do, survive, he understands that they are not too different. Even though this deals with some of the same things as other sci-fi films do when it comes to the robots protocols and looking to live, it is a different story about how they are able to complete the feat. Happy Viewing.

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