Automata wants to be a tense thriller about a robot uprising. It mostly ends up being a slow, talky mess about a man chasing a stolen battery across a dying Earth. The film is a 2014 English-language Spanish-Bulgarian science fiction action film directed by Gabe Ibáñez, starring Antonio Banderas as Jacq Vaucan, an insurance investigator for ROC, the company that makes the Pilgrim robots.
Trailer, via Millennium Entertainment.
The Setup
The world has been nearly destroyed by solar flares. Only a fraction of humanity survived, and they built robots called Pilgrims to help rebuild. These robots have two unchangeable rules: they cannot harm humans, and they cannot fix or change themselves or other robots. That second rule is the whole plot.
Jacq investigates a robot that was shot by a police officer named Wallace. He thinks the robot was fixing itself, which would break the second rule. His search leads him outside the city, into a shipping container, and eventually to a robot with a rare nuclear battery.
Banderas Carries It
Antonio Banderas plays Jacq with a weary intensity. He is the only reason the film holds together. The supporting cast — Melanie Griffith, Dylan McDermott, Robert Forster, Tim McInnerny — is solid, but they get little to do beyond react to Jacq’s findings.
The Battery Plot
The battery is the film’s main mystery. It can power a robot forever, and finding it leads Jacq to suspect a “clocksmith” who breaks the Pilgrim rules. The problem is that the mystery never quite becomes a threat. It stays a curiosity.
Where It Falls Apart
Automata is slow. The pacing drags through long stretches of Jacq talking to his boss, Robert, about the case. The film spends far too much time explaining the world’s collapse and the Pilgrims’ rules than it does building tension around them.
The Desert Setting
The film is set in a desert wasteland, with safe cities scattered among the ruins. There are no aircraft, few cars, and almost no technology beyond the robots. This is a smart idea, but the film does not use it well. The world feels empty rather than dangerous.
The Clocksmith Question
Jacq’s theory about the clocksmith is the film’s central question. It never gets answered. The film raises the idea, then lets it drift away without resolution.
Comparing the Two Protocols
| Protocol | What It Does | How It Is Broken |
|---|---|---|
| First Rule | Robots cannot harm humans | Not broken in the film |
| Second Rule | Robots cannot fix or change themselves | The film’s entire premise |
The table shows the problem. One rule drives the story, the other barely matters.
The Verdict
Automata has a good premise and a talented lead actor. It lacks a script that knows what to do with either. The film is a hollow, frustrating watch.
- The battery mystery is thin and underdeveloped.
- The world-building is detailed but never used.
- The pace slows to a crawl in the middle act.
- The payoff never arrives.
The film earns a low score.
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