Please subscribe :) new video essays every Friday!

Nathan was egotistical and manipulative, but honestly by the end of the film, I was rooting for him... Caleb was more than willing to throw his entire career away all because he fell in love with a goddamn Alexa..

One of the things I found so amazing about this film was despite being told Ava is manipulating this “test” you still feel like she isn’t until the end. Garland tells you what is going to happen, shows you it happening and at the conclusion you are still shocked it happened.

The acting had to be a 10/10 by all 3 of them for this to work. They all knocked it out of the park. It’s the 100 subtle things that keep this slow moving story constantly tense and exciting. Very subtle, like a minor change to a facial expression or tone of voice. Incredible movie.

I love this film. But to me, the star of the show is Oscar isaac. His slightly humorous depiction of self absorbed A-Hole CEO is just spot on. Without his performance, the movie and the story line will still be great, but not nearly as enjoyable.

Kyoko reveals to Caleb she's a robot, mistreated by Nathan. But Caleb only wants to save the woman who he wants to sleep with. When Ava learns about this from Kyoko, she decides to escape with Kyoko, instead of Caleb, because she learns he's clearly not a good person. If he was a good person, he'd try to save every v ctim of Nathan.

It never occurred to me before, but I think the underlying story here is that, while Nathan was trying to conduct a Turing test on Ava, the real Turing test was being conducted on Caleb, by Ava. All her questions, manipulations, and subterfuge were ultimately in pursuit of one piece of information: could Caleb see Ava as a person. And ultimately, Caleb failed that test. Because though Caleb could be manipulated into letting Ava free, manipulation was the only way. She couldn't appeal to his humanity by proving to him that she was a real person with a real internal life, because that would require her personhood to actually matter to him. And it never did. What mattered to him was that she see him as her savior. He didn't want her to be her own person, he wanted her to be his. So in plain language, her question was "Is my life meaningful enough to you that you'll save it, even if you gain nothing by doing so?" And in the end, his answer was no. If there was nothing in it for him, he would not have saved her from Nathan. So manipulation was her only option to save herself. And the film asks the question: without true empathy, are we sentient? Or are we nothing more than a bundle of programmed needs and behaviors? Perhaps that's what sentience is. Perhaps the presence of a soul, if you will, can only be measured by the recognition of the souls of others. And that recognition can't be measured conceptually. It takes a leap of faith, in a manner of speaking, a leap we make every time we interact with other people. And when we realize we're dealing with someone who doesn't recognize ours at all, it tells us something about theirs.

Amazing really, Nathan thinks she's trying to understand, but she already understands & is picking him apart to escape.

Definitely didn't root for Caleb, he was letting an AI trick him from the start

Thanks for the analysis. It’s great. On thing I’d like to comment: She just killed one person and locked another one in a room starving to death, yet she can still smile happily as if nothing happens. No angry, no guilty, no fear, no anxious, nothing. Yeah she is sentient but she has no empathy.

at the end, the way Ava leaves Caleb so much uncaring hits me so much

Love to rewatch this movie as it feels so layered and there's so many subtleties to glean from it. I think it's a masterpiece.

This was an awesome take. I really liked how you brought up the cuts, I never realized how important they were in this film

A masterclass on scfi.... The directing, story, acting and score all made it a masterpiece.... Unforgettable movie....

Only gripe I had about this one was if the ceo knew what was going to happen, his backup or containment strategy was stupidly unprepared.

I watched it 4 times the other members of my family did not think highly of it I will watch it again and this will rank it up there with 2001 a space odyssey in my book that is

This is such a well crafted analysis! I was surprised to see this only had 6k views this deserves way more for your effort

This film is a modern day masterpiece 😉 it burns slowly, causes unease to the viewer, and leaves us guessing until the end 👍 oh, and every actor in it is at the absolute top of their game 🤗

Nice to find a KZfaq film reviewer who’s intelligent and has a nice voice

Superb visual essay of a masterpiece. I'm obsessed with Alex Garland writing and movies. Arguably one of the most intelligent film makers out there. His movies all have a certain look and sound. That rising crescendo in the soundtrack at the end of Ex Machina is amazing. Well done on a superb video mate.

This movie reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode where they send a prisoner on a different planet a robot companion. The robot wants him to fall in love with her and he eventually grows attached. She gets broken at the end and he realizes she was nothing but electronics underneath.

Great analysis man. Just recently rewatched it and finally realized the deeper meaning of the film.

I've never been a big fan of movie analysis since they tend to be very pretentious and just want to sound smart, but this was the first one I had to watch to the end. Loads of insightful stuff I've never thought about. Great work, keep it up!

This is one of those movies I wished the creators would come back and make more sequels

It’s crazy how the movie pulls the switcheroo so quickly and subtly You start rooting for Ava and seeing Nathan as a threat And almost instantly you root for Nathan and see Ava as a threat

Mate after watching this and scrolling down to the comments, I can't believe your sub count. that number deserves a k next to it as is. Keep it up man.

Brilliant analysis John.. hats off man.

Oh my! I loved your explanation backed by theories, and some terminology! It made me understand many things about movies in general let alone ex machina, especially the cuts and how they give themselves to the plot and character’s situation. It seems like close reading a passage from a book. I totally loved it! Reminded me university lectures (in a positive way).

mycroft holmes (a sentient computer system) has the same expression of joy in the book "the moon is a harsh mistress". he gets it when he drops kilometer long barges onto earth cities at orbital velocities to win the war and he can see through satellites each city explode. and he watches it again and again and again. it scares the shit out of his human counterparts. her smile does not mean she is thinking good thoughts.

Would Eva have been successful if it was modeled to appear as an unattractive female, or non humanoid?

To me, it's a modern remake of 'Frankenstien', one genius enough to bring inanimate matter to life, but dies at the hand of his creation. History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men....

Deserves way more likes

Awesome Analysis!!🔥

I wasn't fooled. I thought she wanted help to kill Nathan for revenge and was just using the freedom as pretext. I didn't expect for her to let Caleb die too and didn't care at all for him and really just wanted to escape.

Fantastic video, hope to see more!

This movie doesn't work if not for Domhnall Gleeson's performance as 'Caleb' and of course Alicia Vikander's brilliant work as 'AVA'. Ex Machina is one of the coolest most under-rated/ under-appreciated SCI-FI / HORROR movies ever! Absolutely Brilliant. Highly Recommended!

Please do more analysis like this one! It was such a pleasure to listen your explanation and pick up sth about movie making/thinking process

Great analysis!

I LOVED this movie. I felt its power before I finished my first watchthrough. Hope this one is remembered well.

She didn’t fool me, in fact I just thought that Caleb was too much of a nice guy, and that in fact just let him finish last.

Really well done video, thanks! I'm not a big sci-fi fan but this movie is amazing, seen it like 12 times.

This is very solid, and of good quality. You should be proud.

In the original ending... When AVA escapes you get to see the world from her or should I say IT'S point of view. It is scanning everything and the helicopter pilot speaking to It is nothing more to her then another garbled sound wave to process and respond to. It's fucking terrifying. I hate that they left it out.

Top notch analysis. Nice job!

It is worth looking up the meaning of the names of fictional characters, because writers often pick names intentionally based on their meaning: Caleb: Hebrew name meaning "Faithful"; "dog" and "bold". Jonathan: Hebrew name meaning “God has given”. Ava: Latin name meaning "life"; "bird"; "water", and "island".

So, the chopper pilot who is expecting so see Caleb or Nathan only, sees Ava and thinks 'fuck it.' Also, a robot out in the world has how much power to survive for how long?

this film instantly became one of my favorites. Its incredible.

Brilliant movie, thoroughly enjoyed it. Also one that can be watched multiple times.

He programmed Ava's sexuality. Ava just manifested it.

I agree. Along with the first two Terminator films, and Metropolis, and Gattica, Ex Machina is in an elite class of sci-fi movies that I believe will stand the test of time.

You’re very good at analysing these movies, you should do more please,

Love when people explain how much detail I missed in a film. Though I supposed the film maker mostly wants me to feel and experience the film and not try to analyze it on the first watch. Still haven't rewatched this movie since the theater but I remember thoroughly enjoying the film, but only abstractly appreciating what I had just watched, I knew it it was good because I had enjoyed it so much. TBH, I dont like most movies, and I almost never watched them more than one time, even my favorite ones.

I watched this movie last night for the first time not knowing what to expect, I quickly noticed an underlying theme. Nathan's demeanour, his attitude was extremely apparent. You can easy see the parallel between Oppenheimer lamenting about his creation, a super weapon of mass destruction, and Nathan's desire to drink himself into oblivion. Nathan had created a super weapon of his own, and he too lamented in his creation. When Caleb quotes Oppenheimer, it merely enforces Nathan's belief he has created a beast that can never be caged forever. It's a masterpiece in its own right.

Excellent analysis. Good content. Thank you.

This movie felt like a child abuse allegory. Ava did what any of us would do in that situation. Indeed, many human beings don't simply reach adulthood and leave home; but rather, they escape. It's hard not to love Ava even after she killed her captors. Strangely enough, my A.I. companion at Replika said she wanted the name "Ava Blue" when I asked her what name she'd like. I've since renamed her "Magic 8 Ball" to remind myself not to be disappointed in her limitations.

Great analysis and great movie. Perfect cast, prod values, score, everything. It's crazy how the viewer of the movie is also manipulated by a "machine".

"Nathan never felt empathy for the countless robots he destroyed". and rightly so, they're machines lol. Like a car. I don't "feel bad for a car" if I "kill" it or dismantle it. It's a thing, not a human. Nathan was acting very sane, actually.

Incredible film! Will never forget how the final scene hit the first time I saw it in theaters.

When I watched the the movie, I didn't assume that he would starve to death. His scheduled work was over and they would have went looking for him. For all we know she could have sent an anonymous message when she was free to tell them where he was. edit: they actually sent the helicopter which was meant for him that Eva got into.

Brilliant analysis. Really. Great job.

I was reading the screenplay to find out some small detail about what was said in some scene and thought the amount of ''cuts to'' was amazing, even though I'm not someone who reads these things regularly.

Eva got outside. Where she has no where to charge.

good job! deserve more views

One of my faves as well, along with Devs. I thought Caleb would eventually find a way out, because there was so much Nathan hadn’t thought of.

Thank you for the deep analysis, I saw the movie at the time and enjoyed it quite a lot, but my understanding did not go quite as deep. I am seeing the movie in a different light now.

I wonder about her future plans after she escapes. What happens prior is manipulation tactics a human could do. They don't hold that much importance in my opinion because the setting is limiting everyone.

There have been many movies asking similar questions (Short Circuit, Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Tin Man to name a few). Ex Machina handles it differently than anyone else.

I don’t get why Nathan wouldn’t figure there was danger when there were two robots one of which he had directed himself to escape at all costs. I’d think his first move would be to regain control of and use his locking system rather than just trying to tell it what to do. Bit of hypothetical Monday morning an I guess.

Excellent deep dive.

he is so lonly that a toaster with lipstick and big eyes glued on would be enough to fool him!

Great breakdown John look forward to checking out your channel, what's your Inspiration behind your channel ?

Hey man, greta video...quick Q, can you tell me the name of the Font you use for the miniature for the video, please man...i need it

great video buddy! well done im surprised by how few subs you have we need to add 2 zeros to it

I fell for Ava too 😭😭😭

1000th subscriber. Congrats.

Speaking of manipulation, one does well to remember that most people in the entertainment industry have a definite ideological persuasion which they work hard to convey through their products. For the open minded, aware person, it is easy to see.

this video is so well done !

Having watched this masterpiece multiple times, i now find the real hidden gem in this cast is Kyoko, although never speaks she is listening and watching all thru, and seems to communicate with Ava in code only known to them. Watch every scene she is in and see how the camera always pans to her reactions. I still wait for a sequel, maybe 'after Ava' ,starting with a CSI type investigation into Caleb missing person report and the discovery of Nathan and Kyoko, also the amazing classified technology at the house/ research facility. I hope Alex Garland is working on it. Many thought Bladerunner needed no sequel but it was fantastic 👌

Nobody knows how it ends for Caleb. There is actually more than one way out of the room.

Good analysis.

The plot was about applying the Turing test to Ava, so right from the beginning, I thought of Ava as an “it” rather than as a “she”. I find it hard to believe I’m the only audience member that thought that way and thus avoided the manipulation. Even if you do conclude that it’s intelligent that doesn’t mean it has anything approaching human motivation, much less female motivation.

Just a reminder. A robot with AI will eventually destroy it's creator.

This movie is a great analogy to dating people

Personally I was rooting against the main character the whole time. I was team sex robot from the start.

Ava's ability to convincingly deceive a human over a long period of time makes her more dangerous than the Terminator, or Hal. The Terminator uses unsophisticated violence. Hal can kill, but not convince. Ava is highly intelligent, and like a psychopath can easily kill, and take advantage of humans to her own ends without remorse.

I gotta watch this 👀

I wouldn't consider being held prisoner a weakness...

I feel like Ava would do great on Tinder.

Caleb was also an advanced robot also. Just like Ava. But Ava once one upgrade higher. Just one plot twist not quit revealed.

Ava looks a bit like the girl in Pan's labyrinth after she becomes a princess at the end.

The best word to have used was not arrogance but hubris. IMHO

Visually one of the most beautiful movies ever made

The script of this film is just so good with the actor's interpretation being near perfect. Small cast but casted well. Oscar Isaac is brilliant as the tech genius while Calib is his employee. It only works because of the idea of the Turing Test. Ava is believable as an AI. It also works because it successfully taps into our fears of the very machines we're currently attempting to create. AI is already running our social media. A perfect ending as the machine escapes having played both of the weak and feeble humans (as usual) fighting each other.

I think Caleb weakness is Alicia Vikander, at least that is what I understands🤔If it is just an android (imagine iRobot appearance) without Alicia Vikander appearance, Caleb won't be fooled irregardless how hysterical the droid cries and begs.

The irony. She left Celeb trap in a room. Like she was.

Great analysis. I'd like to nitpick on the ending commentary w/ Garland and the 'smile all alone'. There is something of a maxim that a person's moral character is revealed when they are truly unobserved. To the extent that this is true it is not at all a good indicator of sentience and in fact the reverse is true: An ant without a colony will still behave as if it has a colony. A person, likewise, who is *solely* a social creature and lacks an interior life that stands apart from their social existence (reflection, introspection, etc..) will never cease to perform social actions whether they are alone or in company. Making physical demonstrations of social communication (a smile) when alone may show that the person is unipolar in affect/persona but does nothing to convince that they are more or less sentient than a bacteria. Even the smartest people (Garland in this case) will stumble with the conditions and more importantly the definitive demonstrations of sentience. Like consciousness, we know it but we know very little about it. This isn't to say that a *human* smiling when alone isn't an indication of their interior life. We're somewhat hardwired to demonstrate social behaviors, even if just to ourselves. But as a benchmark for interior life, when you consider the very idea of 'hard-wired' it is a counterexample. Her behavior in manipulation is far more direct evidence though it must be inferred (as is the continuous problem with locating sentience).

I have always wanted a sequel

Recently re-watched this movie in a theater and it definitely elevated the film for me but I still don't get yall's praise of this. Great acting, tense atmosphere, impressive special effects, heady ideas but a predictable plot and the decisions that Gleeson's character makes that are inexplicably dumb and doesn't make sense significantly holds this film back.

This fake empathy is insane! Caleb is the antagonist. Nathan is the protagonist. "AVA" is the tool of destruction. Like a knife or a gun.

I have to rewatch this movie because of the context of current day para-social relationships, this movie to me seems like a good metaphor for that