Audiences will figure out ‘Morgan’ long before the characters

Published 1:30 am Friday, September 2, 2016

When we build an artificial intelligence machine that perfectly resembles a human, what words will we use to talk about the device? He, she, or it?

That question is bandied around in “Morgan,” the latest A.I. picture. To the people who developed Morgan and brought the lifelike machine through stages of birth and growth, it’s a she.

That could be a problem. Because in movies, artificial intelligence is not to be trusted.

Morgan (played by the unsettling Anya Taylor-Joy) has been raised in an isolated lab in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. She — er, it — has malfunctioned, in a sudden act of violence against a researcher (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

A government investigator (Kate Mara) arrives to sort out the issue. The scientists suspect she’s there to terminate the project, and they act protectively around Morgan.

That could be a problem, too.

Seth W. Owen’s script establishes a solid situation and a creepy setting. It goes awry, however, when it comes to character.

Each person at the lab has basically one character beat: the project director (the great “Crouching Tiger” star Michelle Yeoh) is motherly, the veteran scientist (Toby Jones) is overly invested in Morgan, the chef (Boyd Holbrook, from “Narcos”) is down-to-earth, the behaviorist (Rose Leslie) is touchy-feely.

When a skeptical psychologist (Paul Giamatti) arrives to conduct an abrasive interrogation of Morgan in the glassed-in room where Morgan is contained, the film reaches its high point. That’s because the scene is tense and dangerous, and Giamatti doesn’t know how to give a lazy performance.

Unfortunately, that scene is also what’s wrong with the movie. The visitor behaves in such a dumb way that the end of the scene is easily guessed.

“Morgan” is far too easy to predict, in fact. It’s no “Ex Machina,” that terrific sci-fi outing with similar subject matter.

But if not a classic, “Morgan” gets the job done in a basic way. That’s a potent cast, for one thing—along with the veteran performers, Kate Mara finally finds a role that suits her to a T.

This is the debut feature for director Luke Scott. He seems to have inherited a talent for soulless décor from his father, Ridley; the movie definitely looks and sounds cool. “Morgan,” like its title character, is cold around the heart. But that’s what makes it work.

“Morgan” (2½ stars)

It’s no classic, but this tale of an artificial-intelligence creation (Anya Taylor-Joy) gets the job done in a basic sci-fi way. Kate Mara plays the investigator visiting a remote lab to find out why the A.I. is glitching; the audience will guess the answers long before the end.

Rating: R, for violence, language

Showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Meridian, Pacific Place, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall