#2StarMovies

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Replicas (2019)

I didn’t dislike Replicas because I was able to see beyond the plot holes, questionable actions, and dodgy special effects. There are interesting ideas here. They’re squandered, meaning I can’t recommend to anyone… unless you’re looking for inspiration. Take this and do it better.

William Foster (Keanu Reeves) is attempting to develop technology which will allow human minds to be transferred to new bodies after the original is killed. When a car crash leaves his three children (Emjay Anthony, Emily Alyn Lind, and Aria Leabu) and wife Mona (Alice Eve) dead, he steals lab equipment with the help of his friend and colleague Ed (Thomas Middleditch) and brings them back.

This film's all over the place. First, there’s the idea of transplanting human minds into mechanical bodies. Every attempt has failed but no one working with Foster understands why. If the next trial fails the entire project will be scrapped and the equipment sold off to recuperate costs. This means the company will realize the cloning materials they've stolen is missing, they'll be found out and arrested. If that weren’t enough, Ed was only able to obtain three cloning pods, meaning one of the family members can’t be resurrected. On top of everything, the father has to decide which of his family members will live, and which will die. If THAT wasn’t enough, grief-stricken William realizes his family will be traumatized by their resurrection and decides to hide the truth... which means altering their memories and eliminating the unclonable member from their past. Talk about a loaded plot.

Replicas reminded me a lot of Passengers. It isn’t similarities in the plot, it’s the way the complex ideas, really thought-provoking stuff are introduced and then sidestepped. Like the 2016 film, this one has troublesome bits throughout. The car demolished in the initial crash? It just disappears. The film could’ve been salvaged had it been for a well-written ending. Instead, a villain is introduced. It baffles the mind. So all of those complex dilemmas and moral implications just get tossed away for this? What a letdown.

Finished in 2017 (that’s what the copyright notice at the end credits say) but only released now with minimal efforts made to advertise it, this screams of a picture everyone knew was no good. It’s a shame. This could’ve been great. Actually, the missed opportunity kind of makes it even worse than if the whole thing had been stupid. With the disappointing conclusion (which features the sloppy SFX mentioned earlier), it makes you go back and take away points for the rapid cloning machine, the poorly written and under-developed characters or the ease with which William convinced Ed to participate in this extremely illegal and unethical scheme. I was entertained during Replicas but would never think of recommending it. (Theatrical version on the big screen, January 12, 2019)