As a director, Alex Garland has, for my tastes, found the sweet spot in making entertaining and mature science fiction films. His two films, Ex Machina and Annihilation, are not films that get so bogged down by heavy concepts that they forget the basics of good filmmaking, such as pacing and cinematography. In fact, in his short career as a director, Garland has shown a penchant for creating beautifully constructed and detailed science fiction worlds occupied by believable and engaging characters. In both of his films, Garland has also shown a willingness to draw upon his horror roots if needed (he is also known for writing the screenplays for Danny Boyles’ 28 Days Later and Sunshine) to create some of the most memorable moments in the genre over the last decade.

But Garland’s films are also intelligent. They leave viewers with something to think about after the credits roll. Take, for example, in Ex Machina, Garland’s directorial debut about an artificial intelligence. In this film, he provides viewers with a story about the ethics of creating of an advanced A.I. that doubles as a rather potent critique on female objectification and gender politics. The film, for better or worse, has been fodder for much online discussion and still finds itself reexamined and written today.

Ex Machina is about a computer programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) who wins a contest within his corporation. The prize is that Caleb gets to spend a weekend at the retreat of Nathan Bateman, the company’s reclusive CEO. At thirteen, Nathan (Oscar Isaac) designed BlueBook, this film universe’s equivalent to Google, and over the years he has used his enormous wealth to purchase a vast plot of land to house his own private research facility. 

Not long after Caleb arrives at the compound, he learns that the contest was really a ruse designed to conceal Nathan’s real purpose. Nathan wants Caleb to act as the human component in a Turing test, a test designed to prove whether the thinking processes of an Artificial Intelligence is advanced enough to pass for a real human being. Not being one to turn down the chance of a lifetime, Caleb agrees to Nathan’s terms and is introduced to Ava (Alicia Vikander), an advanced A.I. with a female appearance.

And, of course, we also get to meet Kyoko, Nathan’s non-English speaking assistant.

Ex Machina is great science fiction, but in truth, it probably excels even more as a thriller, fueled by the strength of three powerful performances. Nearly all of the interactions in Ex Machina are taut, concealing hidden agendas. The film does nothing to hid the fact that Isaac’s Nathan is an unscrupulous egomaniac who is hiding secrets behind the locked doors of his compound. Gleeson plays Caleb as an imperfect, but descent, man who unfortunately finds himself caught in the middle of brewing war between an updated Victor Frankenstein and his creation. And Vikander is absolutely mesmerizing Ava. Her brilliant performance coupled together with her appearance, for which the film won a special effects Academy Award, alone would had probably been enough to satisfy audiences until the film’s breathtaking final act- and what a final act it is, packed full of deceit and conflicting images of inhuman beauty and body horror.

Because Ex Machina a science fiction film, the genre’s fans have argued endlessly about the merits of its science fiction concepts. But I consider myself more of a fan of cinema in general, so I watched mostly in awe of how well constructed the whole effort proved to be. For a few, Garland is not be enough of a science fiction purist, as he often blends other genres into his Sci-Fi movies. But Garland is an excellent storyteller who capably injects healthy doses of adult-themed social commentary into his work, and that makes him, perhaps, the most important filmmaker working in the science fiction genre today.

When Garland releases his third film, you can expect to find me in line.