Archive (2020)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Here is a modestly budgeted sci-fi story that serves as an interesting watch. It's premise touches on the advert of artificial intelligence and robot technology in a not too distant future. It's star is Theo James whom many of you may recognise as the promising new young hunk in the ill fated Divergent series. Unfortunately for Theo, his career never really took off and this latest offering seems to besome sort of come back for him. His investment as one of the producers here demonstrates how seriously he is taking this project. As the lead of this basically one man show, Theo manages to captivate the audience for the duration of the movie which is a no mean feat given that he is in practically every scene. 

The more important point is whether the movie is any good? The film starts off well as it introduces us to the main character and his environment which appears to be some sort of secret super advanced research centre hidden in the deep forests and mountains somewhere in Japan. Theo's character is using the facilities secretly to create the perfect super advanced human like robot which he is attempting to use as a form of resurrection of his wife who we learn through the customary flash back sequences. All this is not entirely new territory but what makes the viewing interesting and compulsive is the set designs, the breathtaking scenery surrounding the research building, and the ever present hint of some secret that is being hidden from the audience. I have to admit that by the final act, I was beginning to get a bit restless and far too many loose ends remained unexplained which affected the credibility of the story. What saved the movie and elevated it to something special is the surprise twist at the final minutes of the movie. I have to admit that I did not see it coming and it was the sort of clever plot twist that makes you think long after the credits have finished rolling.

While Archive is far from being a classic, it at least manage to make a impact and lingering thought which is not something many movies can do today. That final twist compels us to rethink and reprocess all preceding scenes again with the new information we got. It was at least for me, a gamble that paid off even though some may view it as a gimmick. I would be interested to hear what you think ...