Simulant (2023) Movie Review

By Newguy

Simulant – ABC Film Challenge – Female Directors – S – Simulant – Movie Review

Director: April Mullen

Writer: Ryan Christopher Churchill (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Set in the near future, a humanoid enlists a global hacker to remove all restrictions on his thoughts and capabilities, triggering an A.I. uprising and a government manhunt to eliminate the rise of the machine consciousness.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Simulant starts as we enter a world where machines have replaced you once you pass away. Evan (Amell) and Faye (Brewster) have seen their lives turned upside down by an accident. Elsewhere, Kessler (Worthington) is looking to hunt down simulants that have started to go rogue.

Casey (Liu) has been working on the simulants and has become the main suspect for Kessler. However, his investigation leads him down a path where he learns the disturbing truth about what has become of society since they have been released into the world.

Verdict on Simulant

Simulant is a sci-fi thriller following a man that gets caught up in the middle of a bigger battle between humans and simulants. He learns of a plan that could change how simulants are engaged in the world, causing a change nobody would be prepared for.

This is a movie that looks to focus on the bigger conversation about keeping people’s lives going after death. It shows how humans have created technology to make it happen, but due to one man’s determination, the method starts getting questioned. This brings the big questions to the table, however, it doesn’t seem to dive into the human elements enough. There is a huge focus on a broken relationship being held together. As well as the chance to understand why. Although they never manage to feel like a real threat.

Final Thoughts – Simulant has a big morale question but a flatter story.