Automata is a science-fiction thriller starring Antonio Banderas, available on iTunes in HD right now, and since it’s not available on Blu-ray yet, I thought I’d give it a review. Directed by Gabe Ibáñez, Automata is based on a script he co-wrote with Igor Legarreta and Javier Sánchez Donate. Made on a shoe-string 15 million dollar budget, Automata tells the story of beaten-down insurance agent Jacq’s (Antonio Banderas) quest to explain-away why his companies robots have been breaching their prime directive not to self-modify. Interestingly the film has been given an almost parallel theatrical and digital release on iTunes, which I always appreciate, since it’s increasingly difficult to get to the theater.
City walls – is it Europe and Africa or Israel and Palestinian ?
The plot: The world is slowly dying, chaotic climate change and ineffectual human intervention has not stopped the desserts eroding the planet, and the mere 20 million survivors are left clinging to the few scraps that remain. Jacq Vaucan (Antonio Banderas) is an insurance investigator trying to explain why his companies robots have been self-modifying in apparent breach of their impossible-to-modify prime directives. But when he uncovers the wrong secrets, powerful forces set out to stop him.
Nods to Bladerunner abound.
Automata is very much in Blade Runner territory, with visual effects that land somewhere between ‘District 9’ and Wall-E, it tells a very adult story from almost the very first frame. Nods to other science fiction films are plentiful, but not so bold as to be vulgar or overly distracting. Somehow, the tone and texture of the film is actually very 1970s, I could easily imagine Charlton Heston as Jacq.
Antonio Banderas as Jacq in Automata.
Now this film has a lot of negative reviews, so I wasn’t expecting too much beyond a few b-movie thrills. But I was pleasantly surprised, it’s actually pretty good. That’s not to say there aren’t problems, there are a few wobbly performances from some of the random British supporting cast, and the script is probably three re-writes from perfection (too much tell, not enough show, and about twice as many characters as it needs) but Banderas is great, and Melanie Griffith’s turn as a ‘Clocksmith’ was very refreshing.
I would strongly suggest consuming exactly one beer before the movie starts, and having a second on hand, so as to smooth over any difficulties that may present themselves. I certainly will be watching Mr. Ibáñez’s next move very closely.
Automata Itunes HD Review
Obligatory explosion and car crash for the trailer
The iTunes 1080p HD download clocks in at 3.32 GB. It features a Stereo 160kbps AAC track along with a 5.1 Dolby Digital track at 384kbps. The feature is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The average bitrate is 3.77Mbps with peaks as high as 15.6Mbps.
Unfortunately iTunes has low-balled the bit-rate on this title a little bit, while it’s never obviously artifacty, but is quite soft in places. But then given budget constraints – perhaps that’s not a bad thing.
Automata iTunes 1080p Screenshots
A burned out robot in Automata.
Looking across the great divide.
A Star-Wars nod.
Robert Forster brings a touch of gravitas to the proceedings.
Conclusion
Griffiths is great in this little bit. It’s a shame she didn’t have a bigger role.
Both in terms of presentation and content I give it four out of five: Good. It’s going to look better on Blu-ray, but if you want to settle down for an evening of sci-fi entertainment, the iTunes HD rental of Automata looks pretty good to me.
FTC Disclosure: I am an iTunes affiliate advertiser, if you click on one of the above links and make a purchase, I make a very small amount of money.