Simulant (2023)

Simulant (aka Hello Stranger) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Simulant plays like baby’s first Blade Runner. It’s an easy-to-read sci-fi drama that covers all the expected bases for a dystopian tech thriller. What does it mean to be human? How does corporate greed manipulate life? What right does man have to toy with god? These common sci-fi ingredients are stirred with many cliches, including grimy streets with looming skylines and creepy holograms that spout exposition on artificial humans. There’s nothing wrong with having all this stuff in a sci-fi film, but its execution is about as routine as its themes.

What hurts the film is that there’s little ambiguity given to appreciate the mystery or developments. Remember how Blade Runner left you questioning whether or not Deckard was a Replicant? There’s none of that mystery with Evan (Robbie Amell). He’s a human in this futuristic world but keeps having dreams of his death. He occupies a world where artificial intelligence labeled Simulants are used for drudgery. Could he be a Simulant? The film answers this question early, but even before his robotic innards are revealed, there are more than enough clues to figure this out quickly. This includes the suspicious behavior of his human wife, Faye (Jordana Brewster), trying to keep a tight lid on Evan finding the truth.

Once Evan becomes wise to his creation, he goes through the motions of finding purpose in his world. He hooks up with another Simulant, Casey (Simu Liu), who helps Evan adjust to his new life. Casey not only showcases the many Simulant residents and clubs but also gives Evan an upgrade where humans can no longer control him. Going further than that, he also brings Evan into his resistance group of Simulants, who will unleash a virus that releases all Simulants from their human masters.

There are a few other stories thrown into the mix. Sam Worthington plays Kessier, a Simulant hunter who starts questioning his line of work, ala Blade Runner. He breaks some rules, breaks some limbs, and hunts down Simulants through the dirty streets of a dystopian future. There’s another plot about more secret Simulants added for a few plot twists, but nothing Earth-shattering within this narrative. And then there’s the ho-hum creepy future setting. Affluent homes are pristine and wide, with blank-faced Simulants doing maid work. The city streets are teeming with the poor as Simulant rebels flee. The skylines are towering with offices and giant displays that outline all the rules of Simulants, just in case anybody forgets what kind of sci-fi world they currently occupy.

There’s some action here and there, but Simulant proceeds slowly down such a familiar path and doesn’t have much else going for it beyond its surface-level science fiction. This is a film that needs a little something extra to set it apart from the pack. It could be better direction, fantastic performances, or a mind-blogging subversion of these familiar tropes. Sadly, the film doesn’t have much to offer, and what the film ends up being is a forgettable film. There’s a moment where one of the dying Simulants asks their rebelling creator if they did good, and the creator says yes. If this film were to ask if it was any good, the answer would be a shrug.