Morgan (2016)

Review

92min

Genre:      Sci-fi, Action, Mystery, Thriller

Director:   Luke Scott

Cast:        Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Toby Jones…and more

Writer:     Seth W. Owen

-Synopsis-

Kate Mara stars as a corporate risk assessor who must determine the threat posed by a powerful and advanced artificially engineered girl, created in an isolated rural compound; but when her influence over her “guardians” comes into play, things spiral out of control as her survival instincts surface in this sci-fi/thriller directorial debut from director Luke Scott.

Growing up with the influence of ‘Morgan’ producer Ridley Scott, who also happens to be his dad, it’s perhaps not surprising that Luke Scott chose a cautionary Sci-fi tale related to artificial intelligence as his directorial debut. Armed with a modest studio budget, Scott blends together influences from many a genre thriller over the last 30 years, into a compact piece with a punch… but this ain’t a horror movie in the slightest, despite what description you might have read.

Young Anya Taylor-Joy stars as “Morgan” herself; a genetically advanced and highly intelligent synthetic human hybrid, who looks like a teenager despite being only 5 years old thanks to ultra fast development. But when she struggles with her developing emotions and lashes out, the company who designed her sends a consultant to assess their asset and the scientists who cultivate her.

Enter Kate Mara as “Lee Weathers”; a stoic and determined risk-management agent who takes a objective and calculating view of the entire program, but whose visit sets of a chain of events that provoke Morgan’s base instincts and puts everyone in danger.

If you’re thinking that this story sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen the core of this narrative in any number of sci-fi and thriller flicks over the years; the classic man-playing-God without fully grasping the consequences, and it biting him in the ass.

 Most recently seen of course in ‘Autómata’ and ‘Ex Machina’, but ‘Morgan’ has just as many elements of 1995’s ‘Species’ as well as something from ‘Blade Runner’ as most films relating to A.I. do, even though technically Morgan’s intelligence is not artificial. This is really a cautionary theme that goes back to Frankenstein, if not even further.

But unlike the classic staples of the genre do, ‘Morgan’ never really goes more than skin deep into the subject; skimming over the esoteric and existential considerations and implications of creating or modifying life, plus the complex nature of consciousness, and simply using it as a springboard for a fairly simple but effective little character thriller with a hint of mystery.

Kate Mara delivers another solid performance, flanked by an ensemble cast which includes names that assure quality like Toby Jones, Michelle Yeoh and Paul Giamatti. But Anya Taylor-Joy appropriately steals the show with a nuanced and menacing performance, to add to her impressive turn in ‘The Witch’ earlier this year, making her a “one-to-watch” talent over the coming years.

Let’s be clear through, ‘Morgan’  is not a modern classic of the genre and has little that’s new to offer it. The narrative is fairly predictable and then falters as it gains momentum towards an all-action conclusion, not to mention some plot holes and a final twist/reveal which you might see coming from a mile away.

Nevertheless we’re slightly baffled by the mostly negative critical response for the film thus far; perhaps it’s a resentment of nepotism or high expectations considering the legacy of ‘Blade Runner’, but it’s undeserved for an entertaining, beautifully shot, gripping and occasionally graphic, if slightly unimaginative little debut.

And unlike the recent ‘Ex Machina’, which stylistically masqueraded as something far more profound than it actually is; ‘Morgan’ doesn’t pretend to be anything more that an entertaining little sci-fi thriller with an interesting premise and solid performances, despite its narrative issues.

The Bottom Line…

By no means a game-changer of the Sci-fi sub-genre it sits in, ‘Morgan’ certainly has narrative shortcomings and only skims the surface of the issues it raises about man’s manipulation of life and the nature of consciousness; but this is still an entertaining and gripping little thriller and a solid debut from a man who inevitably has a daunting cinematic family legacy to live up to.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Ex Machina (2015)

A mysterious tech-company mogul entices one of his eager young programmers to evaluate a revolutionary artificial intelligence experiment in the form of a beautiful young female machine; but the experience proves troubling and the results disturbing, if not unexpected, as the lines between real and artificial become blurred and familiar instincts surface.

Directed by  Alex Garland and starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac among others.

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