50 Essential Sci-Fi Films of the 21st Century (So Far)

Yet another Alex Garland joint, Ex Machina is what you would get if you took the first scene of Blade Runner, mixed in a big helping of Her, and capped it all with a few shots of Westworld.

Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) wins an invite to his boss, wacko tech CEO Nathan Bateman’s private underground space (Oscar Isaac). Here, he gets the opportunity to meet the big guy's alluring android Ava (Alicia Vikander), whose AI has been developed to a near-human spec, and on whom Caleb is tasked with administering a series of ongoing, face-to-face tests to see if she can really pass for a person. What Caleb doesn’t realise is that he’s the one being tested by Nathan, who has brought the two of them together to see if Ava will seek escape, and if she is capable of manipulating Caleb’s emotions to do so. And yet there is another, further layer to proceedings, as Ava has an agenda all her own.

Ex Machina takes the Turing test and turns it into a rather sinister feature film, in which every conversation and connection is a test, challenging us to engage at every twist and turn, to keenly observe every interaction, and to decide for ourselves what constitutes consciousness.