A not-so-romantic comedy about sexbots, millionaires, and synthetic intelligence? Companion is a prescient warning in opposition to robotic companions within the arms of utmost narcissists. Drew Hancock’s dystopian techno-thriller seems like an ominous menace, given how Silicon Valley dweebs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are attempting to switch humanity with plagiaristic, unstable coding. It is an pleasant breakup brawler about “good” males with dangerous intentions however suffers from a formulaic, lower-ceiling execution—it simply lacks oomph, is all.
Josh (Jack Quaid) and Iris (Sophie Thatcher) are your garden-variety pookie-pies dwelling their greatest relationship lives. Iris’s attachment to Josh retains her coronary heart aflutter ever since their grocery store meet-cute. She’ll do something to please Josh—like attend a lakeside trip with Josh’s buddies and their vital others. Kat (Megan Suri) is spiteful, Eli (Harvey Guillén) a delight, and Sergey (Rupert Buddy)—the rich Russian home-owner with a mysterious occupation—is a horndog. None of that stops Iris from supporting her man, till a useless physique exposes the group’s darkest secrets and techniques.
I am including a spoiler warning right here as a result of Companion is greatest seen with out preliminary context. The official trailer features a shock that is greatest found first-hand, so whereas what follows is all truthful recreation and in public-facing supplies, I nonetheless suppose you are greatest served moving into blind.
In case you’re nonetheless right here, swimsuit your self.
Companion entices on paper. Hancock’s story vegetation a dagger in Cupid’s again, whether or not that is a actuality the place love will be bought and pre-programmed, or how Quaid embodies the pathetic “Good Man” prototype. As Josh’s revealed rental lovebot— Iris— features consciousness over time and defies her obedience instructions, Hancock wrestles with relationships as imprisonment through gaslighting and abuse, whereas nonetheless roasting tacky rom-com dynamics that fry like damp motherboards. As Josh’s and Iris’ facades dissolve, their getaway turns right into a battle of wits between a sentient automaton girlfriend and her sad-boy snotrag of a worse half. The movie’s transformation from rainbows and butterflies to blood-soaked swimwear embraces the darkness of an all-too-close future the place algorithms exchange real connections, pitting scumbag incels in opposition to the domesticated lovebots of their fetishistic goals.
After all, there’s extra to the story—by a spoonful. Companion is functionally tremendous however ambitiously capped. Hancock’s concepts soar, but his execution is just a little buggy. The expertise is artificial; Hancock hardly ever crawls below the floor alarmism of AI breakdowns and the plight of the “unfortunate” straight white male. Iris’ epiphanies are value a chuckle however hardly a stomach giggle. Josh’s devolution into simply one other manipulative, self-servicing scumbag comes with its nastiness, however it’s scarcely something we have not seen (Quaid’s enjoying a would-be Homelander sycophant). Because the lethal ordeal unfolds, and Iris battles for jailbroken freedom over hardwired submission, Companion isn’t something greater than we presume.
Thatcher and Quaid profit from their rosy then thorny rivalry. Whereas storytelling might whelm, Iris and Josh are crafted by gifted performers. Thatcher’s robotic attributes really feel real—her Siri-esque setup voice and bolt-jointed bodily quirks. She’s a ray of sunshine dampened by Josh’s merciless remedy as Quaid embraces his extended villain flip, then a mocking ex with intimate insults. Between Thatcher’s bubbly, wide-eyed innocence and Quaid’s callous, cold-hearted returns as soon as he is unmasked Josh’s Americana misogyny, these are gifted performers duking it out till the top. Suri stirs battle as Iris’ judgy enemy, Guillén butters us up with puppy-dog appeal, and Lukas Gage is supposed to play Guillén’s kitchen-savvy himbo, however that is all the time the focal duo’s present. In that regard, Thatcher and Quaid lead with peril and keenness.
Hancock chooses to announce the movie’s ending by way of Iris’ opening narration, which is the movie’s largest mistake. In case you’ve seen the aforementioned trailer, you have seen 90% of Companion. Iris’ Wi-Fi-enabled emancipation goes by way of wise motions earlier than ending exactly as instructed. There isn’t any grand finale; it is merely a procession of occasions that meet expectations laid naked upon arrival. There is a Blink Twice undertone to Josh’s puppeteering, with out the fearlessness and full-tilt aggression. Hancock’s tv credit on reveals like Suburgatory and My Lifeless Ex translate into one thing safer, leaving a hickey as a substitute of a bone-deep chew that requires stitches.
Companion is sort of a consolation meal out of your second-favorite restaurant. Your first selection had an hour-long wait, so an outdated reliable steps in to fill your cravings. On this case, Hancock satiates style appetites for a “Good for Her” horror comedy whereas tapping into in the present day’s looming synthetic intelligence hazards. It will by no means blow your socks off; not all the things will. A movie about pleasure-droid entrapments and assholes in Hallmark protagonist clothes ought to hit tougher, however Companion nonetheless lands its cyber-psycho punches.
Film Rating: 3/5
