Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Mad Genius'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

I’ve always found it fascinating just how bittersweet it can sometimes be to meet and speak with someone who expresses their desire to outright change the world. Because while they are inspiring people in their own right, and they often leave our spirits soaring thanks to their infectious ambition and their optimism, deep down we find ourselves a touch skeptical in regard to their quest because we realize that they are facing some incredible odds when it comes to accomplishing their goal.
 
After all, in order to truly bring about change in our world, one has to win over every single heart and mind out there and unite the people to a single cause and that’s quite the tall order since there are always people who believe that the status quo is the way to go and there are others who are utterly terrified of change. But, we wish those who want to change our world the best because hey, at least they’re making an effort and they often do inspire our imagination to wonder; just what would our world look like if someone could find a way to get every single person on the same page? And oddly enough, that particular question is explored in the most creative way imaginable in the science fiction film, Mad Genius.
 
Now in this film, we are introduced to an incredibly intelligent young man named Mason, who definitely believes that the world can become a better place, and rather than just lament the situation as it currently stands, he works on projects that might in fact improve our world and he uses an alter ego online, Mr. Vix, in order to speak to the planet’s problems and inspire change. But what few people know, is that Mason has hatched a plan in that giant brain of his to finally change the world, one that involves mapping the human mind in order to alter its programming. But he’s not the only one whose come up with such a notion and it will be a race against time to see who discovers the secrets of the human mind first, and the winner of this race will either make the world a better place…or send mankind to its doom.

---

So really, the first thing I noticed about this motion picture, is the sheer fact that it is a wonderful throwback to the Cyberpunk films of the 1990’s, complete with colorful and kitschy characters that jump off the screen and the decision to go that route from an aesthetic and design standpoint for the film, instantly sucks you in to the story. Because those films of yesteryear always featured a genuinely good protagonist and Mason definitely falls into that category because he genuinely wants to do good in the world and his plan seems pretty logical, to the point where you instantly find yourself rooting for Mason to succeed and that’s where the magic really begins when it comes to this story.
 
Because this movie, features an incredibly layered and thoughtful screenplay, one that truly digs into what it would take for the world to embrace change and rather than cram a single answer down our throats, it offers a veritable cornucopia of possibilities. One of which, is that we have to be better individuals to begin with, and that notion comes about by way of Mason’s storyline and the fascinating twist of him embracing an imaginary friend named Finn in order to ‘properly’ function in life, and it also explores how we have to inspire people to want to improve their lives and their surrounding environment rather than demand that they do so, otherwise the end result is more of the same and the film also briefly touches upon how that kind of negative push can also lead to the creation of monsters like Eden, who is played brilliantly by actor Faran Tahir. 
 
If anything, all of these elements make for a refreshing science fiction film, one that embraces the best parts of the genre and really, I loved this motion picture. It’s fun, it’s quirky, subtle, smart and poignant and credit is due to all of the cast for bringing these magnificent characters to life and to Writer/Director Royce Gorsuch for providing us with a lovely vision of a future world where technology has indeed taken over our lives in every single way imaginable, but still finds ways to inspire people to be more in life and all of these elements just make for a wonderful viewing experience and this is honestly a movie that you need to see as soon as possible since this film really is just a delight through and through.  

---