Renner

Renner is a strange film that takes the topical AI technology and doesn’t do much with it until the latter stages.

A timely reflection on the reliance on technology and the insidious harm in replacing human relationships. A little egregious at times, an overall enjoyable watch.

Built on an intriguing premise and supported by solid performances, Renner starts strong and stays engaging, even if it loses a bit of momentum before a well-earned final act.

While the discomfort and anxiety that’s built by the story is effective and engaging, the writing hampers the suspense, first by showing us an obvious twist way too early and then by creating a conclusion that makes us question the writer’s competence.

Fitted with too many twists for its own good, what starts out as a promising little indie with some sci-fi twists ends up becoming a convoluted affair that can hardly get away with its attempts to ramp up the stakes.

Has many plot twists and head scratching sequences.

Renner isn’t a long film at exactly 90 minutes, but the runtime gives the suspense plenty of room to explore the duplicitous nature of humans and computers. It’s a solid film with good acting and that final act takes a turn I know I didn’t see coming.

A tense game of paranoia disguised as a romance with a science-fiction twist.

Either way, the various fake-outs and twists are not remotely consistent with the personality of the characters. Inspiring little more than a shrug, it ends on an inert note where it is a struggle, maybe even impossible, to care about anything’s fate.

Even if the script were smarter, the modestly-budgeted execution would undermine the picture, which moves from character study to would-be thriller to something like torture porn.