Finch

Finch

It was a decent movie. The premise was not the most original one, as we have seen elements of it in previous films. I think this is a film that again suffers a little bit from its marketing and the expectations it arises. If you expect an action loaded film like "I, Robot" you will be disappointed. This is rather a melancholic story about a dying man and his dog who creates a robot as a caretaker. Its a film about life, loss and moving forward. It does have some action and tense elements that are typical for a SciFi adventure, and it does have fantastic visual effects and a beautiful cinematography. But the core of it is the characters (including the dog, which has its own character) by which the film is driven. Its truly another one man show on Tom Hanks' resume and he has more than once proven that he is great at that. This is no difference. Tom Hanks gives a very touching performance. Its not constantly brilliant as he sometimes sleepwalks a bit through it, but in its essence very good. I also liked he dynamic between the three characters which was nicely done. Good film, not legendary, not a 100% must see but a good way to pass 2 hours with.

It's not the best movie ever, but how can people give this 1-4? It is very good in my opinion. About 2 hours long but it felt very short. Very likeable characters. And there is only 4 of them. If u count robots and the dog. Not boring, funny, and emotional with good visuals. Perfect movie for one evening.

The world has been devastated by solar radiation. The ozone layer is swiss cheese. Finch Weinberg (Tom Hanks) is roboticist survivor in St. Louis. He collects supplies during the day to avoid people during the night. He is dying. He creates a robot (Caleb Landry Jones) to care for his dog after he's gone. There is a powerful storm approaching and he has 40 days to search for safety in San Francisco. This reminds me a lot of Castaway and I am Legend. The robot is very much Johnny Five. It's a lot of bits and parts from other more original material. It will probably be forgotten soon enough in the constant flow of streaming TV. There are basic problems with this world construction. Quite frankly, Finch should be carrying a giant umbrella with tin foil covering. Even if he's avoiding direct sunlight, he should be hiding from reflected radiation. That's why the RV makes no sense. The windows should be covered. There are more than a few things that feels wrong. What's right is Tom Hanks. He is the every man no matter what the situation. Jeff is a little cute as a hapless Johnny Five. The dog is a dog. This is fine but nothing to remember.

Finch doesn't feel like a sci-fi film, nor does it feel like a survival one. It's just a rather slow and bland drama with empty dialogue and an expected ending. By the end of the movie, you get a distinct feeling that the movie could have worked, but they only focused on the visuals and forgot about engaging the viewer in the story. The world looks beautiful, but it doesn't feel dead, there is no sense of hopelessness, the need to survive. Hanks' character hardly catches on. Jeff could have been interesting, but since this is not a science fiction movie, he is not written like a robot, but as a teenager. This is probably done on purpose, but it is not clear why this is not reflected in the dialogues, there is no father-son dynamic. They could have chosen one of two things, either make him a robot and have Hanks explain the world to him through human logic, or make him a full-fledged child and develop the appropriate dynamic. They threw in a little of this, a little of that, and ended up with nothing. In its current state, Finch (2021) is a visually pleasing 105 min long character introduction that surely won't retain your attention. I cannot rate it lower than 5/10 since the production and all the visual stuff were great. Can't say this for the music though. P. S. And yeah, closing a dramatic scene with rain isn't such a fresh move in 2021.

I had no trouble of following a very touching and sensitive story in this film. I have seen other movies that involved AI, well, AI for one- and Chappie, the Terminator franchise, I Robot... But this is the first time I have seen elements of "damnation alley" used in a basically "robot dog sitter" film. Because basically, that is what this is. We think that the Finch character is making a joke when he is programming Asimov's four laws of Robotics into the robot, with the fourth law focusing on the welfare of his dog "goodyear", rather than "mankind". The dog was Finch's sole focus, and he explains why to the robot "Jeff" about halfway through the film. What I found pleasant with this film was that the robot picked up humanizing traits from Finch as they traveled. But at the same time we learn some unfortunate things about the man, Finch. Which explains mostly why he is doing what he is doing. It is one thing to program intelligence and knowledge into a computer. What about compassion, what about common sense? This is another thing that provides a stark difference between this film and most other "robot" films. "Jeff" is being taught common sense- and that lesson is learned at too high of a cost, much too high. There is another aspect to this film: what would our world look like in the aftermath of a climate change event as severe as what happens here? Finch barely escapes a storm which is traveling at him at a rapid speed. One of the interesting things that he says about this world, is that the climate change, the solar flare, did most of the damage but we ourselves as people provided the killing blow to the human race. But there is also a glimmer of hope in this film as well. There were all kinds of stories in this film it's just that there weren't very many characters: it's just Finch, Jeff, the dog, and another dog robot, Dewey. We really don't see anybody else but you can feel their presence. There is also a little bit of Harlan Ellison's "a dog and his boy" here as well. Except that Jeff is less than successful in learning how to speak "dog".

...what people don't like about this movie. I'll admit it is a little sentimental, but in a good way. Tom Hanks gives his signature "ordinary Joe" performance but the stand out is the robot. Despite beginning sounding like Borat the robot is the star of this movie. I'm fascinated to learn how they made the robot so life-like but in the end it doesn't really matter. In addition it would be nice to see a movie not based around an apocalyptic vision of the future. Given the huge advancement the human race has achieved wouldn't it be a welcome novelty to envision a positive future? Just a thought..... BTW a great family movie. No violence, sex, bad language or drugs. Just a story of simple human values everyone in the family can enjoy. Even the dog.

In order to avoid spoilers I can't really say much about this except in emotional generalities. I waited to see this for months because it looks so interesting. The preview of the movie is about the right pave, but the movie itself drags on so slow, and it is boring. Also Hanks is so grumpy and angry ... who wants to listen to 2 hours or an old guy scolding a robot for everything he does. After all he built the thing, but there is no recognition of that. Almost all the robot cliches you've ever seen in a movie are right here but not done as well. The best part of the movie by far is Seamus who plays Goodyear the dog brilliantly. It's insulting the intelligence of anyone who is over the age or 10, so kids might love this movie.

Basically it's a two hour road trip story about taking care of a dog. I get that both writers are newbs, but at least give us some real drama, thrills and suspense. There was only one part things seemed like they were going to get exciting, but let's just hide under a bridge to avoid all the excitement instead. The story was dull, unoriginal, and lacked any real plot. I've never been so disappointed in the lost potential from an underused conceptual story, especially with the 115 runtime and amazing casting. This may as well been a short film. And had Hanks not been cast, this just wouldn't of worked and would've flopped. Hanks, and his dynamic with Caleb Landry Jones as Jeff were the only reason I finished the film, although Jeff was unconvincing and a lame and wimpy excuse for a robot. The directing, cinematography, sets and visuals were excellent, as was the old-school tunes soundtrack. But even all of that will leave you disappointed and wanting more. Even my dog had better ideas to add into this film. It's a very generous 7/10 from me. Apple should stick to computers and phones.

Loved it. It's Tom Hanks, a robot and a dog - what's not to love? From the life lessons, tender relationships portrayed between human and robot, human and dog, and the action-packed suspenseful scenes - it's a fun wild ride that had me laughing and crying and hugging my dog.