Hollywood Shifts Gears in AI Cinema: from Existential Dread to Glitched-Out Chaos
Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood’s portrayal of artificial intelligence appears to be undergoing a meaningful shift, moving away from familiar tropes of existential threat and soulful robots towards a more chaotic and unpredictable depiction, as evidenced by the first trailer for Gore Verbinski‘s upcoming film, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.
A recent article in The Guardian points out a long-standing pattern in AI-themed films. Classics like 2001: A Space odyssey and Her (2013) both explore ”the anxiety of being trapped with a soft-voiced machine that knows more than you.” The author notes Her feels akin to Electric Dreams (1984), differing primarily in its soundtrack.
However, the article suggests a growing disconnect between these established narratives and the reality of current AI growth. “No one is suggesting Hollywood should start making films about what AI actually does,” the piece states, acknowledging the lack of cinematic appeal in a technically accurate, yet unexciting, portrayal of AI limitations. “But we should at least be getting something that feels like it’s been inspired by recent developments, rather than expensively produced and lavishly recycled takes on stories we’ve all seen before.”
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, starring Sam Rockwell, Juno Temple, and Haley Lu Richardson, appears to be a departure from these established themes. The trailer depicts an AI that isn’t focused on saving or destroying humanity, but rather on subjecting humans to a bizarre, reality-bending “cosmic escape room.” The film’s aesthetic is described as a “jittery” and “over-caffeinated” experience, featuring elements like “spider-legged dollbots,” “neon-lit dystopian alleyways,” and “a giant ungulate striding through suburbia.”
The article draws parallels to the visual style of Everything Everywhere All At Once, noting the film’s ”speed-cutting chaos.” Though, it emphasizes that Verbinski’s film avoids the “ponderous parable about robot souls, digital enlightenment or the hubris of man” that has characterized previous AI narratives.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is scheduled for release in February. The article speculates the film may represent a broader trend in Hollywood, suggesting the industry has “finally run out of ways to make AI frightening, wise or soulful, and has decided to make it an endlessly glitched-out nonsense engine rather.”
