HOLLYWOOD—Whenever you hear good things about a movie it will always peak your interest. That is how I felt about the movie, “Companion” which was being described as an AI thriller with a shocking premise. The movie did absolutely entertain me and I found it enthralling to say the least. There is so much talk about the dangers of AI or Artificial Intelligence that has many people concerned and this movie points that out.
I will admit I knew one of the big twists of the movie before seeing the movie and I wish I hadn’t. It would have truly delivered a bigger punch when I discovered what I discovered about Iris (Sophie Thatcher). Yes, Iris is a robot people and she serves as a ‘companion’ for Josh (Jack Quaid). This is a fun role for Quaid, who has showed his acting talent in “The Boys” and recently in the 2022 horror flick, “Scream.” Quaid is showing a lot of versatility as a man who is quite lonely and requests a robot to keep him company. However, it is Thatcher who truly shines delivering a level of empathy that immediately connects with the audience.
Josh takes Iris to meet some pals at a lake house for the weekend and things go haywire while meeting his pals Kat (Megan Suri), Patrick (Lukas Gage) and Eli (Harvey Gullien). The film does a solid job of presenting a society where this has become the norm; people live and function on a daily basis with companions, and I’m not referring to just doing tasks, but love interests.
Iris has a malfunction while at the lake house and things go from bad to worse and we see the tables turned. I enjoyed how “Companion” plays with this idea of technology going wrong, but at the same time how humans sometimes abuse technology for their own personal gain and how that can work in and against our favor. This movie scared me with the notion that this could be a trend in the future; people forgoing relationships with an actual human being for romance with a robot who will listen and follow their every command.
I mean talk about being stunned with another reveal in the movie I DID NOT SEE COMING, that really elevated the tension and my investment. You have a good idea of what you’re getting with “Companion” as a moviegoer and it takes those expectation and twists them on its head.
Very rarely can you say you have joyful ride watching a thriller and that’s what I got with “Companion”, which I think opens the door for a potential sequel or more intriguing stories in the near future. The movie clocks in just under 100 minutes and the pacing is just perfect to keep the moviegoer intrigued and invested in our primary characters with a storyline that has plenty of twists and surprises along the way to deliver a satisfying ending.
“Companion” teaches a valuable lesson of the dangers of AI and trying to control technology to benefit one’s own personal gain. It may work in your favor until it doesn’t and it doesn’t hurt to have acting talent where you know what you’re seeing is AI, but it’s so real that you don’t catch it, until it’s too late.
