The Machine

Right now you can watch The Machine in the US on XLTV Amazon Channel and Kanopy, and in the UK on Shudder Amazon Channel — and it goes further with its ideas than most genre entertainment bothers to. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Caity Lotz anchors it with a performance that grounds the bigger ideas in something human. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on XLTV Amazon Channel .

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, The Machine is worth clearing space for. What makes The Machine work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. Already deep into a second Cold War, Britain’s Ministry of Defense seeks a game-changing weapon. Programmer Vincent McCarthy unwittingly provides an answer in The Machine, a super-strong human cyborg. When a programming bug causes the prototype to decimate his lab, McCarthy takes his obsessive efforts underground, far away from inquisitive eyes. Caity Lotz and Toby Stephens lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2013. The world-building is meticulous enough to sustain multiple rewatches, with details early on that only make sense later. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

The Machine is satisfying on multiple levels — something to watch and something to think about after. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Caity Lotz grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Once you are in, you will want to talk about it.