Today’s quick review: 2036 Origin Unknown. In the year 2036, Mack Wilson (Katee Sackhoff) remotely commands an unmanned mission to Mars with the help of ARTI (Steven Cree), an advanced artificial intelligence. The Mars lander soon finds a mysterious cube that’s capable of hyperlight travel and other startling feats. As Mack digs deeper into the cube’s origins, she learns troubling secrets kept by Lena (Julie Cox), her sister and boss.
2036 Origin Unknown is a budget science fiction movie that muses on artificial intelligence, interplanetary exploration, and alien contact. 2036 Origin Unknown pairs a skeptical scientist with an AI to unravel the mysteries of alien technology. The movie features some interesting sci-fi speculation and a couple of good mysteries laced into its plot. But its mediocre writing and acting, abstract plot, and weak payoff make it something of a miss overall.
2036 Origin Unknown is too ambitious for its own good. The plot starts out fine, an interplanetary mystery with a dash of conspiracy and the added wrinkle of a hyper-advanced AI who may or may not be trustworthy. But as it approaches the endgame, the story loses its way. The mystery takes a turn for the bizarre, the nature of the conflict changes drastically, and the story embraces lofty themes that it does not have the skill to pull off.
The result is a science fiction movie that aims high and falls well short of its goal. 2036 Origin Unknown has the bits and pieces of a compelling sci-fi story, but it lacks the quality of writing needed to follow through on them. Its most daring ideas are not set up properly and presented in confusing ways, while the more plausible plot twists that fill the middle of the movie are abandoned as the ending comes around.
Watch 2036 Origin Unknown only if you’re a fan of budget science fiction in the mood for something abstract and mind-bending. 2036 Origin Unknown does not have the sharpness of writing, the tightness of plot, or the thematic depth to have its intended effect. The pieces of the story will hold some interest, but the whole does not have much to offer.
For a much more artistic sci-fi movie that deals with similar themes, try 2001: A Space Odyssey. For a more grounded, scientific tale of Mars exploration, try The Martian. For a science fiction drama that reaches just as far and with more skill, try Interstellar. For another minimalistic sci-fi movie that explores the relationship between man and AI, try Moon.
4.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.5 for decent plot hooks let down by an abstract, unsatisfying ending.