'AfrAId' review: An unimaginative thriller about the dangers of artificial intelligence
Courtesy of Sony
There’s no denying we are living in the new age of artificial intelligence. With the rise of ChatGPT and other various platforms that each bring their own form of existential dread with them, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would come knocking. Chris Weitz’ bonkers “AfrAId,” desperately wants to have its finger on the pulse of the horrors AI can pose to the world, and though his attempts at folding those themes and allegories into a call to arms is admirable, there’s nothing in this bland and obvious thriller that will tell you anything you didn’t already know. But some of the third act pivots and nonsensical revelations push it into camp territory, and there’s a silver of me that wants to recommend the film on the sheer basis that I wasn’t bored, but then I remember time is valuable, and well, life is too short for that.
Part of that hesitation is because Weitz did have the smarts to cast John Cho and Katherine Waterson in the lead roles as two loving parents who find themselves in the crosshairs of a demonic AI device that can be everywhere and anywhere. Cho and Waterson, of course, bring a pedigree this movie certainly doesn’t deserve. The latter plays Curtis, a high-level marketing executive trying to book an account for AIA, a new artificial intelligence assistant that’s like Alexa on steroids. Curtis’ wife, Meredith (Waterson) is hesitant, but ultimately agrees to allow the device into their home.
And what a device she is. AIA can help pay bills, order groceries, and offer incentives if the children do their chores and homework. But considering there’s an opening scene involving another family being threatened by AIA, it’s evident she is nothing but EVIL with a capital E. You’d think with all the years of data and research at his disposal, Weitz might have conjured a more tension laden thriller with a little more on its mind than simply saying: AI can be bad, you know.
Cho and Waterson are hardly given anything to do aside from being the worried parents who clearly suspect something is wrong with AIA, but by the time they realize it, it's already too late and it has crept into their laptops, cell phones, and the cloud (rendering a scene where someone attempts to destroy the main hard drive rather mute). As does most of the movie in its attempts at trying to peddle half-baked metaphors on how we can’t protect our children from technology and how the rise of AI is coming whether we like it or not. In the end, everything about “AfrAId” feels pretty toothless.
Grade: C
AFRAID is now playing in theaters.
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