The God Question (2014)
Two scientists working in secret with a highly experimental, super-intelligent computer feed it everything ever written that exists in digital form - virtually every book, article and news story. Then they ask it the ultimate question: is there evidence in any of it for God, for a spiritual framework to life. To their astonishment, it arrives at an answer.
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Pretty Good
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
I am a big fan of movies dealing with the ramifications of Artificial Intelligence. This movie is much more interesting and well-considered than you might think after the first 10 minutes, which almost made me switch to something else. But if you keep with it, you will be rewarded with a very original perspective on the AI issue. Another review suggested that religious people will like this movie. Without creating a spoiler, I will say I believe this fellow reviewer did not actually watch the film. I think this movie does a very good job of considering what options a super-intelligent AI actually has. How does it decide what say, what to do, and just as importantly, what NOT to say and do?
Finding this movie while surfing channels looking for anything to watch, I wasn't able to bear it through to the end. The so-called "scientists" from MIT (no less!) asking their supercomputer whether or not there is a god .... nothing about the characters speaks science or scientific inquiry, and the "character" of the computer is of a similar bent. It is abundantly clear from watching even a few minutes where this film is going, and unbearable to devote the time to wait until it gets there. If you are a religious person without any interest in scientific inquiry or principles, then you will likely find this movie appealing. On the other hand, if you respect science then you should avoid this like one of the 10 plagues.
Recently, I saw the video, The Grand Budapest Hotel. I feel like I should have enjoyed it more than I did given the great reviews, brand-name cast, and significant production budget. I only mention this because pretty much the opposite holds true for The God Question; given the unknown cast, and micro production budget, I shouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did -- especially after reading some of the negative reviews here. This movie approaches the concept of computer AI from angles I haven't seen elsewhere. It struck me as pretty original. The central plot serves as a device into which many other pertinent questions are woven. The storyline feels uncomplicated to a fault, but it wasn't until I started talking about the movie with my husband that I realized how many issues it actually tackled. Surely, more bells and whistles could have been added with a larger budget, but at least this film did not leave me scratching my head over giant holes in the plot, or frustrated by inaccurate portrayals of the science behind the story. This is an honest film.