When is a real and messy war not so real? Answer: when it's presented as an android uprising.
So in the fantasy world that this film inhabits, just after teenager Georgia (Chloe Grace Moretz) discovers that she's pregnant with Sam's child, domestic androids suddenly turn on their masters and civilisation is plunged into near instant disarray. Despite her huge doubts about Sam (Algee Smith), the couple end up on a perilous journey to get to Boston where it's rumoured that families might be evacuated. Their shaky relationship actually grows stronger.
As the film moves towards its central dilemma, you might recall that a very similar scenario played out for real during the messy evacuation from Kabul last year. Many of the couple's discussions on their journey begin to make more sense. (At least up until a rather confusing last five minutes.)
Does it work replacing a hot and nightmarish reality with a cold and frequently rain-soaked fantasy? In brief, not very well. The plot that we end up with is full of holes and inconsistencies right from the start. Are the androids indistinguishable from humans or not? Is Georgia incapacitated by her pregnancy? In both cases, the answer is sometimes yes; sometimes no. In places the film has a distinctly low-budget feel, but its worst failing is actually a lack of pace.
So it's an alternative view on a real-world moral dilemma. But is it interesting enough? Very marginal, hence 6/10.
So in the fantasy world that this film inhabits, just after teenager Georgia (Chloe Grace Moretz) discovers that she's pregnant with Sam's child, domestic androids suddenly turn on their masters and civilisation is plunged into near instant disarray. Despite her huge doubts about Sam (Algee Smith), the couple end up on a perilous journey to get to Boston where it's rumoured that families might be evacuated. Their shaky relationship actually grows stronger.
As the film moves towards its central dilemma, you might recall that a very similar scenario played out for real during the messy evacuation from Kabul last year. Many of the couple's discussions on their journey begin to make more sense. (At least up until a rather confusing last five minutes.)
Does it work replacing a hot and nightmarish reality with a cold and frequently rain-soaked fantasy? In brief, not very well. The plot that we end up with is full of holes and inconsistencies right from the start. Are the androids indistinguishable from humans or not? Is Georgia incapacitated by her pregnancy? In both cases, the answer is sometimes yes; sometimes no. In places the film has a distinctly low-budget feel, but its worst failing is actually a lack of pace.
So it's an alternative view on a real-world moral dilemma. But is it interesting enough? Very marginal, hence 6/10.