★★★★★○○○○○ [ 5/10 ]
It wasn't bad but it wasn't exactly memorable either. This movie situated itself somewhere in the middle I'd say. The best movie about memory manipulation and recall is in my humble opinion still "Total Recall" (as silly as it may sound). With that being said this movie doesn't even really focus on the mysterious machine which is able to capture memories but rather on the murder of its inventor.
Furthermore the movie has way too many fictional elements that can't be backed up with science (like e.g. the fact that the memories were stored in tiny glass plates - total hogwash; that would only be possible with 5D lasers which are gigantic and expensive to the nth degree).
And just to bring the point home; the inventor of the machine claimed that it was invented to "help patients overcome their trauma". But that can't possibly be true if it causes hallucinations. Keep in mind that we already have fairly effective treatments for trauma and PTSD patients. Things like EMDR (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) have already been proved to work without any severe side effects like the "miracle machine". Not to mention the regulatory implications that such a machine would pose. I have no idea how they managed to "almost release it to the public" if it's unsafe to use. As someone who worked in the pharmaceutical R&D sector I can tell you this much; there is absolutely no way the FDA would've approved it. And yes, the FDA is also in charge of regulating medical devices (not just drugs).
p.s. I was really surprised to see Anton Yelchin in this movie. Considering that he passed away over a year ago, RIP, this movie must have been on the back burner for quite some time now.
Final verdict: it's watchable but don't expect to be blown away.
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2331047/
Ontology: #movie #review #PeterDinklage #AntonYelchin #memories #tech #invention #futuristic