Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot: A robotics engineer designs a humanoid robot to take care of his dog after he dies. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a solar flare has damaged the earth’s ozone layer making the atmosphere almost uninhabitable to all living things.
Review: Now and then you come across that one movie that hits you to your core. Apple TV’s Finch is one of those movies because it strikes quite the emotional chord. Anyone who has managed to experience that tight familial bond with their pet would get the gist of the story played out here. Many times we are forced to watch our pets cross over the rainbow bridge because they unfortunately don’t live as long as us humans. However, what if the situation was reversed and you knew that you were running out of time? Wouldn’t you want to ensure that your cherished friend ended up with someone who you could depend on without a shadow of a doubt? Well, Finch Weinberg (Tom Hanks) gives us one of the solutions to this problem—build a robot!
Of course, the character just so happens to be a robotics engineer. But Finch is so much more than just a movie about a man building a robot to take care of his dog because he knows that he is going to die soon. It’s about how humanity has turned upon itself in times of crisis and almost destroyed itself. The mistrust of your fellow man after bearing witness to the atrocities committed by selfish, maniacal behavior. The story is about how a robot develops human emotions because its creator was a good person and last, but certainly not least, the loving relationship between a man and his dog.
The journey is an emotionally difficult one and Hanks has a penchant for carrying these types of movies upon his shoulders with relative ease. Caleb Landry Jones co-stars as Jeff the humanoid robot created by Finch to take care of his dog, Goodyear. Jeff begins clumsily learning basic rudimentary skills from his creator like how to walk. However, since Finch is his creator, Jeff begins to adopt certain human-like qualities. He’s overly curious, loves Finch to tell him stories, and is visibly upset when he loses his patience with him. Jones does a superb job at getting the audience to eventually forget the fact that Jeff is just an awkwardly tall, eccentric-looking robot. Finch also touches a lot on the regret of wasted opportunities that one is presented with. The sad fact is that it takes having to deal with one’s mortality to take stock.
After all that we’ve been through and are still experiencing as a planet, Finch is a great thought-provoking watch. It forces us to look in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable for our actions and responsibilities in this life.
Dark Alice’s Score: 9 out of 10
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Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More