Also watched the Netflix original sci-fi flick I Am Mother. This is a not particularly original premise done moderately well on a pretty low budget (that looks like it has a higher budget).
So the flick takes place in an underground bunker after an apocalypse has wiped out all the humans. Mother is a care-giving robot who has a bank of human embryos from which she births a daughter. She raises the human child and teaches it ethics and logic hoping to some day repopulate the Earth. Of course, this being a sci-fi flick, that’s not the whole story and soon a human survivor (played by Hillary Swank) is knocking on the bunker door.
From a technical angle, and given the apparent low budget, this is a remarkably good looking movie. The robot is played by a human in a very well made suit most of the time (sometimes it’s CGI and it’s hard to tell the difference). The bunker interior looks good from a practical angle and the few exterior FX shots we get look good. This is a remarkably accomplished film from a technical/film-making angle.
The story is a little more predictable. Not that this particular story has been made many times as a movie, but it has appeared in anthology tv shows and novels a number of times. That’s not a crime, especially if its new to you, but, for me, it was a little redundant. On the other hand, it was well acted by the girl playing the teenage Daughter and by Rose Byrne who performed the voice of the robot.
So, yeah, it’s a well made if predictable movie. Good acting, good effects, and it’s on Netflix. Kind of hard to argue with free, basically, and it’s one of the better Netflix originals. Which isn’t always saying much.
Score: 76