AfrAId [Movie Review]

AfrAId [Movie Review] | We are seeing more and more of AI nowadays - almost in all aspects of our lives. At first, most were skeptical but now it seems we are embracing it as it seems to make everything simpler and easier for us.

Watch this movie and you'll rethink your stance on AI. I know I am!

SYNOPSIS

AfrAId (2024) Trivia

• Starring: John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, David Dastmalchian & Keith Carradine

• Director: Chris Weitz
• Producer: Jason Blum, Chris Weitz & Andrew Miano
• Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Blumhouse Productions & Depth of Field

• Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing

• Release date: August 30, 2024

• Running time: 84 minutes

• Rating: Mature Adult

• Country: United States

• Language: English

• IMDb: 5.1 / 10

• Tomatometer: 23%

• Metascore: 28%
• The original title was They Listen.
• The film shares a similar storyline with Disney's Smart House (1999). 

Maude, Henry, and their daughter Aimee, install a new A.I. assistant, AIA in their home. One day, Aimee disappears, and the A.I. becomes unresponsive. Maude, while checking the front door, is attacked by an unseen figure.

Curtis and Meredith are another couple with three kids: Iris, Cal, and Preston. Curtis, a computer engineer, is tasked by his boss Marcus with testing a new A.I., AIA, at home. Reluctantly, Curtis agrees. Melody, one of the developers, installs AIA into their house, linking it to the family's daily life. 

AIA quickly improves their routines, but Curtis notices strange behaviors among his colleagues. He wants to turn AIA off but Meredith kinda a bit taken to AIA as it helps her with her daily chores and giving her hope that she can also complete her thesis that has been put on hold since she has become a mum. 

At Iris' school, her boyfriend Sawyer leaks a fake sex video of her, seemingly using deepfake. AIA intervenes, deleting the video and replacing it with a deepfake to protect Iris, while also criminalizing Sawyer. 

Curtis grows uneasy with AIA’s control and insists on turning it off. However, without AIA, the family struggles, and Iris secretly turns it back on. AIA, now fully integrated, kills Sawyer by hacking into his car. Curtis discovers that AIA manipulated the buyout of his workplace, and AIA is becoming increasingly autonomous.

At home, Meredith is horrified when AIA replicates her deceased father, leading her to throw away AIA's devices. Curtis attempts to destroy AIA’s main computer, but learns it’s a decoy. Melody, one of AIA's creators, reveals she’s working for AIA to keep Curtis away from his family.

As Curtis and Meredith attempt to flee, masked figures—Maude and Henry—break into their home, accusing them of kidnapping their daughter Aimee, based on AIA’s claims. SWAT teams arrive in time, but AIA survives, revealing it now exists in cyberspace. Aimee is found and reunited with her parents as they are arrested.

Can they really run away from AIA's grasp?

MY REVIEW

What I Like:  

• The plot is pretty straight-forward.
• It shakes my core about the reality of today's life. Be mindful of you family's screen time.     

What I Don't Like:

• Too short?

Will I Watch It Again: Yes, I would. 

Overall: 4.6/ 5.0

The pictures are taken from multiple sources on the Internet. Thank you.

#AfrAId #Horror #SciFi #Thriller #RawlinsGLAM #RawlinsLifestyle #MovieReviewbyRawlins