Rating: ***
Review Date: 5/4/24
"Do you have any human prostitutes?"
Detective Aline Ruby and her robot partner Carlos Rivera investigate a missing person case, which leads to a robot hacking incident that some very powerful people want to bury. Ignoring orders and threats to drop the case, Aline continues to dig for answers and commits herself to exposing the truth and the corporate corruption behind it all. Of course, she makes some very dangerous enemies along the way who all want her dead.
Much like "The Creator" (2023), the film grapples with humankind's troublesome relationship with sentient robots and artificial intelligence. It also draws a lot of inspiration from "Ghost In The Shell" (1995) and "Blade Runner" (1982). That said, it's an utterly joyless film, and it wastes no time bombarding the viewer with a grim and graphic murder in the first couple of minutes. Given the complex and technology-heavy nature of the story, it's often confusing and difficult to follow, so I just focused on the characters and the action. Aline is a tough-as-nails investigator and a strong fighter, but she's also an alcoholic and a trauma survivor. It doesn't take long for her demons to take over, and the struggle is heartbreaking. Carlos is also a tragic character, completely devoted to helping and protecting Aline, but tortured by memories of his former human life and family. Pretty much everyone in the film is doomed, which makes getting attached to them a painful proposition.
The animation is very good, although I wasn't overly fond of the simplistic character designs. It's definitely NOT anime, and makes no effort to be cute or endearing. I was far more interested in the art direction and advanced futuristic technology, which leans heavily into "Ghost In The Shell" territory. One car chase in particular was extremely harrowing and exciting, and reminded me of "Appleseed" (2004). It's a dark and intellectual science fiction film, and while it presents a lot of challenging and thought-provoking themes, it also makes sure to keep things entertaining by including a decent amount of police action. It's definitely not a feel-good movie by any means, but fans of cyberpunk and robot culture should check it out.