Writer: Seth Owen
Director: Luke Scott
After a violent incident at a remote research facility involving the artificially created Morgan (Taylor-Joy), company risk management consultant Lee Weathers (Mara) is assigned to investigate the events and come to a decision whether or not to terminate the project - and its subject...
Director Luke Scott is Ridley Scott's son and there's certainly enough in terms of style to this sci-fi thriller to prove that he's something of a chip off the old block (sorry to Ridley Scott for calling him an old block). Unfortunately what he doesn't have is a script to match and the odd potential spark in the proceedings is usually dampened by either clichéd plotting or cumbersome dialogue or both.
A previous catastrophe is referenced - far too often - using variations of the line "We don't want another Helsinki". What happened in Helsinki, or in the project codenamed Helsinki, was obviously very bad and no one wants another Helsinki. The team of scientists working with Morgan tell Weathers and each other this A LOT. I'm tempted to use this in real life, e.g. "I wouldn't try rewiring that. We don't want another Helsinki".
I wished I liked this more because it's anchored by a trio of strong performances from Mara, Taylor-Joy and Leslie and it's the female characters who drive the story along, nicely subverting the usual stereotypes such as the hunky nutritionist who also happens to be an experienced hunter and a crack shot with a rifle. He gets much less involved in the action than you'd expect and from minute one corporate troubleshooter Mara isn't really going to take any of his shit. Which is a really enjoyable thing.
Taylor-Joy, following up her excellent work in The Witch (which you should see if you already haven't), proves that she's rapidly becoming the go-to actress when you're looking for a performance that's slightly off-kilter in a way you can't quite fathom. Here Morgan is a genetically-engineered five-year-old who may be acting strangely because she/it can't understand her/its place in the world or it may all be down to the fact that the DNA jiggery-pokery hasn't quite achieved its aims and has created, to all intents and purposes, a murderous psychopath.
To be fair to the flick it plays off both of these options (and all shades in between) with some degree of success but it just takes too long to get to the meat of the plot and the first half in particular is mired in having the characters reel off clunky expository dialogue about how they got there or what their role is within the facility. The second half ups the ante in terms of tension and action but you might be checking your watch some time before things finally heat up.
Come the end, there's something of a twist which, depending on your ability to see when and where the rug is about to be pulled from under your feet, will either startle or have you nodding in acknowledgement of your acumen in spotting that type of thing a mile off. Either way, it's pleasing that the resolution isn't totally of the join the dots type, although it's hardly a game-changer either. Like so much of this film, it's okay when it should be thrilling, or shocking, or....well, just anything other than okay. Bonus Bryce Dallas Howard points, however, for Kate Mara's climb up a sheer face in killer heels.
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