This movie certainly started like an action movie. Elaborate action sequences filled the screen with loud noises and pyrotechnics. It is all done with good quality CGI. It launches the plot and introduces all the key players. The premise of the movie is not exactly new. The use of AI/robots in combat was cause célèbre before the first Terminator movie but that franchise certainly made it a pop culture phenomenon.

The special sauce in this case is the combat AI in question was extracted from the dying brain of the lead researcher’s mother. She is a famous mercenary who nearly died years ago during her last mission to earn money to pay for her daughter’s surgery. She has been kept alive but in a vegetative state.

The research project led by the selfsame daughter (2FL) is the central plot. It largely focused on honing the AI’s combat and tactical abilities as captured at the height of the FL's fighting prowess. However, it is treated as a closed loop and each time the experiment ends in failure, the android’s mind is wiped.

Everything changed when the research programme is cancelled with little warning. At first, the 2FL was just going to pass on the data and shelve the programme, but she found out that her mum’s memory is intact and the android will behaves as if her mum has come back to life if the restraint on its programming is removed. That realisation triggered the final cascade of events.

I gather the writer-nim and director-nim are trying to make a grand statement about the morality and pitfall of using AI created by mapping a living brain or the sanctity of one’s mind. Unfortunately, the message is not particularly strong nor clear and is mixed in with all the political/business imperatives and feels muddled.

What I did notice is that the process and legality of transferring a dying person’s mind to an android seems to be well established and there are even a price list for perspective clients which diluted the message further. This makes it hard to explain why the 2FL, being a leading scientist, is caught off-guard by her own discovery.

While the start and end sequences are impactful and quite entertaining, the middle section is slower and meandering. It is filled with pseudo-science and the movie tries to use the narrative to fill in some of the backstory. It is watchable but the complete change in pace did the movie no favours. It just feels like there is too much exposition about contrived theories.
As I mentioned before, the ending was an even bigger rollercoaster thrill ride. It was certainly well made and keep your attention to the end. However, the ending is rather tropey. It just about confirms the whole movie is a retelling of the liberation of a trusted slave/horse/mum trope. The final shot of the FL was “interesting”. It is cheesy but does leave the door ajar for a sequel.

Acting wise, it is a mix bag. The female leads did well especially the mum/android role. It is very demanding both physically and emotionally. The 2FL earned her keeps but the script doesn’t really give her much time or room to grow. She has a job to do, and she did it to the best of her abilities. The ML is a caricature and prone to overacting. Most of the support cast are just living props. That is probably why the middle section is the weaker link because we have to rely on some of those secondary roles to push the plot along and they are not always up to the task.

All in all, it is an enjoyable popcorn flick. There is a hint of grand ideals but the setting and execution was too restrictive to truly deliver a knockout punch.