User reviews

In the near future, mankind has been coexisting alongside AI, in the form of humanoid robots The Simulants, only their fate is changing, an uprising looks likely when The Simulants start breaking their four precepts.

I watched Blade Runner very recently, and as I watched this, I couldn't get it out of my mind, but sadly this film isn't a patch on it. Everything here has been done before, only much better.

Pacing was pretty slow, after an intriguing opening, it lulls badly in the middle, you're made to wait ages for more action sequences.

I didn't care for the visuals of The Simulants, they looked pretty cheap and nasty, like something from a low budget 1970's TV series.

The tech looks great, it's possibly the film's biggest strength, some great tunes, especially at the end, fortunately it's not a long film.

Some of the acting was ok, some was pretty average, Sam Worthington really did stand out, although he was a little wasted.

5/10.

For a normally breezy 95 min runtime, this film felt endlessly long. It's terribly slow pacing was part of the problem, but mostly the issue here was the overall underwhelming filmmaking. From the story that's been done many times before and better that felt less intelligent and more artificial, to the directing that lacked any real urgency from scene to scene with annoying, predictable and repetitive sub-narratives. There was a lot of style, but very little substance to be an engaging viewing, even in its short runtime. I found myself constantly impatient for something more suspenseful and thrilling to happen, that never did. Even the all-star casting couldn't elevate the depressingly-toned slow story. Director April Mullen's lack of effective cast direction made it feel like all the actors were half asleep reading their lines. I will however say that the cinematography was excellent, the score very fitting, and the S/VFX quite passable, for a low budget B film.

The comparison to Blade Runner was going to be inevitable. Simulants are replicants, and they have become more advanced where self-awareness and autonomy are becoming a social problem, so an enforcement agency tracks down rogue simulants. Sound familiar? "More human than human" of the Tyrell Corporation is replaced with Nexxera's "simulants are as close to human as humanly possible". It would be generous to say this movie pays homage to the 1982 classic-there are plenty of easter eggs. This is, unfortunately, a Canadian low budget production that doesn't do it much justice.

Cast has many recognizable Canadian B actors, some regulars in the sci-fi scene. Of course, the most recognizable is Simu Liu of recent Marvel universe fame.

There are some salvageable aspects that explore bioethical issues we are at the cusp of having to address for real. But the movie lacks any subtlety in conveying the gravitas. The AI "precepts" are repeated multiple times to remind the audience, rather than work them into the screenplay, which to me is lazy writing. The "ominous" soundtrack plays on a loop throughout the movie, a poor attempt at creating tension and suspense. CGI is minimal, and the rest are making the most out of budget props and industrial locations.

I'm actually surprised this was picked up by HBO Max and not Syfy, where it's would find a more appropriate home and audience. It's not entirely unwatchable, if you adjust your expectations.

I liked the movie and I believe it deserves a higher score of at least 6+.

There are a lot of movies being made today and a lot of them have flashy graphics and cool action, but they do miss any serious point fequently.

Well, the good thing about this one is that it has a point and a good one, it's interesting and even thought it has been raised before it still seems to entertain and entagle thoughts, as A. I. future is more close now than ever.

It's not a flashy blockbuster, it is quite slow paced, some character actions are questionable, dialogue is simple, some scenes seem quite cheaply made, yet I did enjoy this movie.

It has some style.

And I liked it's soul.

Here's the problem.

The movie starts with a really good 'Bladerunner' style hunting of a simulant/replicant with is is well made and a great set up. Unfortunately, the movie then drops the pace and the action to a scene were a woman mourns the loss of her husband and has had him replaced with a simulant/replicant. The movie then cuts between the two stories, one interesting, one not so much, until the end.

And as for the ending, well, it's a let down. The plot can only reach conclusions with contrivances and conveniences.

There are so many decent ideas here and a great action movie to be made with the material but it feels jumbled up. In short, too many plot lines spoil the film.

Simulants are artificial humanoid robots. They are restricted by programming, but someone is trying to hack them. Artificial Intelligence Compliance Enforcement agent Kessler (Sam Worthington) apprehends Esme (Alicia Sanz), a simulant which had its programming altered. Evan (Robbie Amell) and Faye (Jordana Brewster) are a loving couple, but it's not what it seems. Casey (Simu Liu) is a hacker.

This premise has been done before. It is straight out of the Asimov's 3 laws of robotics which is eighty years old. I kept waiting for something new, but this is mostly derivative. The freshest aspect may be Simu Liu having sex with Alicia Sanz. It's still a little unusual in Hollywood for an Asian man to have sex with a white girl. The Evan-Faye couple does have an interesting reveal, but that surprise reveal can't be done more than once. I was expecting it for all the other reveals. There is potential for something else, but the movie doesn't go there until the last scene. I do want to mention the filming locations. For the most part, I've never seen those places and that's good. It's a side issue, but it does add a little freshness to the movie.

I really enjoyed this as it keeps you guessing right until the end. You are never quite sure how it it going to play out or how the characters will react to certain tense situations. It's well acted by all and feels like a possible future. It has a lot of soul considering it is a story about androids and AI.

The violence necessary to the story is blessedly kept to a minimum and there is very little gore, for a change. If you want an ultra noisy wham, slam, bang sort of film, then this one will disappoint you as it has rather a slow but very interesting plot development that is also a welcome change.

Title: Simulant Director: April Mullen Release Date: April 7, 2023 Starring: Robbie Amell, Jordana Brewster, Simu Liu, Alicia Sanz, and Sam Worthington

Overall, I enjoyed the story of "Simulant" and found the video quality to be high. The themes of artificial intelligence, love, and loss were interesting and thought-provoking, and the performances of the main cast were strong. Despite the slow pace, the film kept me engaged with its intriguing storyline and suspenseful moments. The narrative had a way of pulling you in, making you invested in the characters and their journeys. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and I found myself wanting to know what would happen next. However, considering the depth of the story and the number of subplots introduced, I couldn't help but feel that "Simulant" would have been better suited as a series. Expanding the story across multiple episodes could have allowed for deeper character development and exploration of the complex themes. Nonetheless, as a standalone film, "Simulant" succeeded in capturing my attention and delivering an engaging experience.

Where do I begin. Well, for one thing, the acting and photography/coloring/effects is great. I don't always judge a movie by how it looks, but sometimes I do and I give this one extra points for looking very good. Every shot is spot-on and whoever was hired to do the job should get a raise. The sound quality was excellent and that person should also get a raise. This was of course made by HBO and they have enough money to to make a high quality film. That being said, the story is just not done right. I feel like whoever wrote the screenplay should have put more thought into it. Then again, I know how difficult it can be to be a writer and create a screenplay that a director can use to make a successful movie. I think it was an OK movie. Not something I would want to watch again. Someone else might like it.

I was really looking forward to this movie after watching the trailer. Unfortunately it's not the film I was hoping for.

There's nothing original here. It's the same old tropes and recycled storyline we've all seen countless times before.

The acting isn't great but I don't think that's down to the cast. It's just dull and uninteresting.

I'd like to point out some positives but I can't. I found the whole thing underwhelming and I struggled to get to the end. When compared to movies like Blade Runner, AI and Ex Machina I can't justify giving this anything more than 2 stars. Very disappointing!

The world is full of Simulants, human looking robots and one man wants to give them free will. This is one half of the story while the other half focuses on a grieving widow and the Simulant doppelgänger of her dead husband. The story is quiet interesting though a bit unfocused due to the two nearly parallel storylines taking place as they merge into one. A issue I have with it is the ending being kind of bad and honestly a bit silly overall.

The cast was pretty solid with Jordana Brewster playing Faye our grieving widow with Robbie Amell playing her husband Evan. Finally Simu Liu plays Casey our man trying to give free will to the whole Simulant race. Really good performances by them all.

The VFX and SFX were good, especially the way they did the Simulants and the heart of the Simulants etc, that was pretty cool.

Overall a good movie and I give it a solid 7/10. Decent storyline, good cast and effects. Recommend a watch if you like movies like iRobot or you want to see some more of Robbie Amell or Simu Liu.

I don't give cheap 7 stars to any film, but this deserves it, it reminds the argument of blade runner but in a more actual and realistic environment, taking advantage of today's concerns about AI

directed by a woman gives it the touch in the story, not the action fortunately

i was reluctant to watch if because its low rate in imdb, but we decided to give it a try, and we watched the full movie interested by the plot and the ambient (nice music also, another tribute to blade runner), and fortunately with very few scenes of mild violence and action

I love story telling pictures, and detest action films, so this is a must see for every fan of sci.fi movies.

The title of my review is honestly pretty self explanatory. The movie attempted to take some sort of slow burn, philosophical, mind bending approach.

But honestly it was just a bit boring.

The synopsis details an "uprising" but honestly, I find it to be a too liberal application of the word, it's more of a temper tantrum if anything.

There are so many missed chances to create anticipation and tension throughout the film however they're so blatantly brushed over. The tension that you expect to be built falls flat and you're left feeling unsatisfied.

I had some hopes going in but honestly there are many "AI uprising" movies that deserve more of your attention.

Simulant was a good movie wouldn't listen to the bad reviews Its well worth a watch.

Great concept and good acting. It may be a low budget movie. And the movie is compared to blade runner Even today there is debates from scientists. That in the future as we advance with technology will artificial intelligence take over the world Just like in the movie simulants that gain conciseness and be self aware.

I believe in the near future as we advance rapidly with AI which is definitely possibility that it could happen Not in our life time but in a few more generations imagine what we will be able to achieve and will AI gain self awareness?

Its a possibility what do you guys think?

Will AI become real and will AI gain self areness.

Canadian movie production quality is equal to Canadian TV production quality which is a bit worse than US Lifetime movie quality.

Most parts were interesting, the twists and turns were good. Actors and actresses all did a decent job, there were some good looking scenes.

I would agree that the pacing felt off, it was 1.5 hours and felt like they were stretching things with filler that wasn't engaging.

Not nearly as good as the Detroit: Become Human game's story which has AI breaking away from their programming due to mis-treatment by humans, and being able to share that with other AI by touch.

So overall just okay.

It's not the first AI movie ever made. Not the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even 30th. So it's not going to be original at all.

But judging it by itself, this movie is pretty good. It has the right formula.

It has good character development. It has a good setting. The climax and resolution are not that exciting, but they are there.

What would you do if you woke up and realized one day you were an AI? Happiness? Family. Purpose? It make sense. How you feel is real. Anger. Insecure. Frustration. All that.

Anyway, I really enjoy watching this unoriginal AI movie. It has look looking characters. Some good action. Good story. All there.

The lack of suspense in the narrative and the predictable unfolding of events make for an unenjoyable movie. The filmmakers attempt to explore profound questions regarding the relationship between humans and machines. However, the execution lacks any sense of creativity or enthusiasm. In the movie, all Simulates must obey four precepts: 1) Do not inflict harm on any human being. 2) Do not modify yourself or any other Simulate. 3) Do not commit crimes against international or local law. 4) Obey all commands from your masters. As soon as these rules are read out in the film, you know that they will be broken. All is too predictable. Even the A. I. is not worked out properly. The script, though, indeed looks like something that could be generated by ChatGPT. Simulant is naïve nonsense that asks, "What does it mean to be human?" and answers the question by changing the code of simulates and recommending them a Dostoevsky book! Literally! Do not waste your time. Skip this one.

Writer Ryan Christopher Churchill had put together what ultimately turned out to be a bland script and storyline for "Simulant", which was a shame, because I had actually looked forward to getting to see this one. Normally I am not overly keen on sci-fi movies, but the synopsis for "Simulant" sounded interesting.

It was the fact that the narrative was sort of mundane and the character gallery equally so, that ended up making "Simulant", from director April Mullen, a rather monotonous movie to sit through. I have to say that, that while the premise of the synopsis was rather promising, then April Mullen delivered a movie that offered nothing new to the genre. And the fact that everything in the movie was done on autopilot didn't really help to lift up an otherwise stale script one bit.

"Simulant" doesn't bring anything new to the genre, and that causes director April Mullen's movie to not stand out. And that causes the movie to leave no ruckus in the pond, and it will just quietly get gobbled up by the mists of oblivion. And that was a shame.

The acting performances in "Simulant" were good, and they had a good cast ensemble, which definitely also were part of why I had been looking forward to watching the movie. Just a shame that they were given only such mediocre dribble to work with.

Visually then "Simulant" was good, but the special effects and CGI can do only so much while in the hands of a mediocre script.

"Simulant" came and went without leaving a lasting impression for me. And thus, I am rating "Simulant" a generous four out of ten stars.

As other's say here in the comments - this movie tries to be a Blade Runner. Tries to cash in on the boom of AI and scares around it. Tries to make us think about "what makes us human, and what would be the difference to a sentient machine".

Unfortunately, it suffers from plot holes (like a policeman going for a super dangerous criminal with no backup, to name just one), suffers from low budget (albeit CGI is not too bad), and suffers from over-artism. It tried to be Blade Runner with a much worse script, and it failed.

It's not a bad movie if you're into slow, not-really-action-filled but more "brainly" and "artsy-fartsy" (and perhaps over-talked) sci-fi. I love sci-fi so I gave this 6 out of 10, but most of you will give it 4 or 5.