Tau (2018) User Reviews

Decent little sci-fi

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 2 September 2021]

In the early scenes of this sci-fi thriller we see protagonist Julia, a small time thief, gets taken from her home. When she wakes she is in a lab and has an implant in the back of her neck. After a painful procedure she is sent to a cell where she finds two others people in a similar predicament. An escape attempts leads to the destruction of the lab but not her freedom. Her captor, scientist Alex, intends to complete his experiments; this will require Julia to do various mental tasks under the supervision of TAU; the artificial intelligence that controls the house and its systems... which include a lethal robotic sentry. If Julia is to escape she will have to find a way to reason with TAU.

I rather enjoyed this film; it may contain plenty of elements from other films but it still works well and kept me gripped. Julia is a good protagonist; tough but not excessively so and Alex is a menacing, largely due to the fact that he controls TAU and the robot. TAU is interesting too; it is described as an Artificial Intelligence but it is more than that; an Artificial Conscience which clearly has emotions. The scenes with Julia trying to bargain with TAU were fun and not too rushed. While there isn't a huge amount of action what there was, was exciting and raised the tension notably. The cast was solid; Maika Monroe impressed as Julia and Ed Skrein was effective as Alex, a character who is outwardly very calm but prone to busts of violent anger. The special effects were pretty good. Overall I'd say this was a pretty decent sci-fi film; worth checking out.

Where Do All The Review Snobs Come From?

[Foutainoflife · 7/10 · 24 February 2019]

This film is about a woman that has been kidnapped by a scientist who is working on the creation of the most advanced artificial intelligence.

I don't usually do sci-fi films but I thought I'd do something a bit different tonight and came across this. What is up with all these review snobs? It's a Netflix film folks so it's not some epic masterpiece. Did you not know that or something? Some of you review films like they are a piece of crap, former lover who cheated and has left you jaded about relationships. Chill out some and give some credit where credit is due.

This film wasn't that bad. I thought it was an interesting story and I loved all the robotic aspects. The robots were neat. The acting was decent and it is filmed well. There wasn't a lot of depth into the characters but it worked. I ended up really liking this and I really have no idea why these people are being so harsh. Check it out if it sounds like something you'd be interested in.

I liked it.

[heitorrferreira · 6/10 · 28 May 2020]

I think some reviews here are way too harsh on this one. I agree that this is not a very original concept, and we've seen it executed flawlessly, even decades before. It's another angle on human-machine conflict and that's fine. I think the issue is that the script needed more coherence. There's a lot of logic issues... which is not great. But I don't think it ruins it.

This movie delivered more than I was expecting. It has great visuals, the acting is fine, the CGI is neat, the story is interesting, engaging and drives you to an experience that is worth watching. I don't feel like it was a wasting of time at all. Make some popcorn, lay on your couch and enjoy some fun time. It may be a little silly for its premisse, to be honest, but at the end of the day this movie is entertaining and I appreciate that.

Not bad at all, not great either

[SeriousMayhem · 7/10 · 24 March 2019]

This movie isn't very original or groundbreaking, and it becomes a rather predictable ride about halfway through. But, if you can manage to suspend your disbelief just enough, that ride is still mostly entertaining.

The acting is decent, although Ed Skrein's character is not very convincing as either a villain or a scientist. I felt the AI was lacking a bit in the "I" department and the interactions with it are mostly shallow.

Visually it all looked very pleasing, although lacking in originality.

All in all, this movie does feature a little bit of everything you might want to experience in a movie about AI. The action, the suspense, the drama, it's all there. And if you don't expect a masterpiece or blockbuster, you may find it very passable for what it is.

7/10.

I know we're supposed to suspend disbelief but...

[ornellaboasso22 · 4/10 · 17 July 2018]

I wanted to love this movie but the script (and specially Ed Skrein's character) is so flawed that I just couldn't. During the first half of the movie, he is shown meticulously arranging his torture tools, in the next scene, we see Julia steals one of them, and we are left to believe he just didn't notice?. Then while he's gone and mayhem ensues, he finds out about this only upon returning to his house? I mean the guy is literally kidnapping people and torturing them, and we're supposed to believe that he wouldn't program TAU to let him know if something weird happens, let alone if there is a freaking explosion? And as if THAT was not enough, he then proceeds to let this girl that almost destroyed his whole house to just live in there, he buys her clothes and feeds her like some kind of futuristic Belle and the Beast and casually mentions to her that the IA controlling the house sometimes "reacts erratically"... Anyway, the acting is fine, the visuals are beautiful, I love the genre and think the idea could have been great but the script is just not up to the task.

Not what you'd expect

[lewisxx-417-226815 · 7/10 · 21 June 2020]

I was expecting more of a horror/thriller by the movie description, but this turns into a more developing AI movie on the backdrop of a thriller. By the end I was totally invested in the protagonist and the AIs relationship.

A very forgettable addition to the artificial intelligence film genre

[Councillor3004 · 29 June 2018]

After her successful roles in modern cult films "The Guest" and "It Follows", Maika Monroe has established herself as a scream queen, a position which should only be further manifested by "Tau", an artificial intelligence thriller which suffers from not being able to make use of a mildly interesting premise. In terms of cinematography and style, "Tau" is good enough, not outstanding, but it's certainly watchable. However, it's the nonexistence of any interesting aspects in its script which really brings this down - everything is always only hinted at, never fully explored, not to mention that most of its ideas aren't entirely original either. Maika Monroe gives a decent performance and I enjoyed Gary Oldman's voice role (even though I can't really understand how he went from winning an Oscar for his incredible portrayal of Winston Churchill to grabbing some cash with this), while Ed Skrein's acting didn't catch my attention at all. To sum things up, "Tau" does not have the most original premise and doesn't follow up on it with an interesting plot, instead creating something surprisingly boring and dull. Just like many other Netflix sci-fi movies, I cannot recommend watching it.

Tau does not compute

[ryansalamence · 3/10 · 29 June 2018]

Psychological thrillers centered around artificial intelligence are some of my favorite movies, the genre has so much potential to explore artificial minds, as well as terrify with their capabilities. In order to do so, they require very fleshed out and smart writing, when comparing the writing of this film, especially the writing of the A.I. to that of films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Her, and Ex machina, the writing falls very short. It has a very difficult time fleshing out the protagonists relationship with the A.I., leading to many scenes that feel undeserved and forced. They wanted emotional scenes, but they didn't earn them. This on top of very mediocre performances, and character decisions that don't seem near as reasonable as some other choices they could have made. There were also a few things that weren't logical from any standpoint, but I'm willing to suspend that disbelief. I very much enjoyed the set itself, it did a good job selling itself as a futuristic film, and also made for some very pretty cinematography, using different colored lights and displays to illuminate some shots and scenes. Altogether, I liked the concept, disliked the execution.

definetely not perfect, but it has its strong points

[BigDaddy4000 · 7/10 · 9 October 2020]

Ok so full disclosure, ill admit this movie isnt perfect. but the thing i like about it was the fact that instead of being another cookie-cutter "A.I. is evil" sci-fi movie, the movie actually had a positive view of the A.I. and didnt label it as the bad guy. and that i think is worth some points. i probably wont be watching this again anytime soon, but i would still say this is worth a watch. salso the CGI was pretty impressive (even if it was used sparingly)

A waste of talent and CGI budget, Tau falls flat at almost every opportunity.

[mattgadiffey · 4/10 · 4 July 2018]

A witless demonstration of a CGI budget far in excess of anything warranted by either the acting or writing, Tau is a string of pseudo-technological buzzwords, cliches and clumsy set pieces which betray a crippling ignorance of the technologies it attempts to initially scare and ultimately win over audiences with. From fake windows to ever-pointless holograms and cringeworthy appeals to AI sentience, the aesthetic appeal of the sci-fi setting is shattered, through inaccuracy and inconsistency, every time Noga Landau's screenplay tries to have it interact with the plot in any way.

Ed Skrein's villainous charisma, proven by his performance in Deadpool, is utterly wasted through a cheesy accent and generic writing. Gary Oldman's performance as Tau sounds markedly more like a bad human impression of Siri than the state of the art artificial impression of human voice, and neither convinces nor threatens at any point - making its ultimate attempted humanisation all the more damp. Malika Monroe's performance as Julia is forgettable, which in the context of the film is actually a positive.

An interesting, if somewhat unoriginal concept, utterly wasted in execution.

Also of note is one of the worst implemented Wilhelm screams I've ever seen.

An AI Movie With the Biggest Heart I've EVER Seen!

[tesswysko · 9/10 · 11 August 2019]

I'm a HUGE fan of Sci-fi, John Varley, Isaac Asimov, etc. and there's a simple set of rules for robots and AI. (If you don't know, I recommend looking it up before watching. ) I seldom find a movie that makes me think, or has the GUTS to bend or break the rules AND is ABLE to FOLLOW THROUGH with their decision without making a flop!

Truly when I first started watching this movie, say the first 20 minutes or so, I sat here thinking "ok, what's this going to be? Another Blade Runner clone? Why don't they do something cool like cast Lady GaGa? She's BORN for a role like that!" Then things got interesting...

This movie opens with a sylph-like girl kidnapped and put through some sort of a medical experiment/ implant, and then thrown in a cell with a Hannibal Lecter-like face mask on and 2 others with her. The 3 break out, and after events, she finds she's in the house of a brilliant, handsome, terribly cruel scientist who's been doing experiments with AI to "better humanity, " as is the excuse of all sociopaths and psychopaths like Hitler. However, his house is run by an AI named Tau, who she does MENSA- like brain tests with and as she does so and seems to have a bit of fun doing so, she seems to get through to both Tau & Alex, the scientist... but not all is as it seems.

I HATE spoilers, so I won't give any away, but I've seen so many movies, I never thought they could evoke in me the feelings that my books do, but I'll admit - I was wiping away tears multiple times! This movie seriously hits you in the feels!!! The people giving this such low reviews must be dead inside, or hate sci-fi, and shouldn't have watched this in the first place!

perfectly fine Sunday evening movie

[naum-rusomarov-944-460795 · 7/10 · 21 July 2019]

There is nothing special about this movie, everything that happens in it has been done in other movies, sometimes better sometimes worse. Despite this, it's not a terribly bad movie. It's fine. It's perfectly watchable. It's entertaining and the main character is quite good in the role of the protagonist, the voice of the AI is also great and I think its character was well developed through the film. Mr. Evil Guy as always wasn't really fleshed out at all, they could have used a carton cutout and it won't have made a difference in the film. There are also some problems with CGI here and there, but that does not dectract from the viewing experience.

For a low-budget Netflix movie, I think this is a winning combination of a good enough movie that doesn't pretend to be something that it's not. For some this will be fine, for others it's obviously going to be an infuriating experience. You decide.

Below average...

[abhijaybahati · 4/10 · 29 June 2018]

Netflix continues to disappoint with its original movies. The original series and its takeovers seem quite good, but the movies are below average!

This seems like a rip off ex machina. There is an attempt to make an attachment between the lead characters Tau and Julia. Tau is never believable as a sentient AI. Too much plot convenience where important information like 'Tau can never go outside' is given directly by the villain himself.

Ed skrein is a single dimensional villain with no character arc. Cant believe this is the same guy who played ajax in deadpool.

Netflix guys, if you are reading this, please hire a good critics team to criticize the original content you guys throw out... sure you dont have to worry about box office, but please dont spend money to make movies with absolutely no plot!

Tau: Passable slice of scifi

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 26 December 2018]

Reading the synopsis of Tau I expected a movie like Cube, Saw, The Breathing Room, Circle etc. Namely a movie where people are taken against there will and forced to play a game of death. I love movies like that!

Sadly that is not what Tau is at all. It tells the story of a girl trapped in a house with both her captor and an advanced AI that prevents her from leaving. But to what end?

Tau looks the part, I enjoyed the setting and minimal cast but the story though interesting is badly flawed in some places and highly predictable in others.

Starring It Follows (2014) star Maika Monroe I feel that not only should the movie have been longer but maybe more should have been explained. A couple of unanswered questions left me frustrated and a couple more could certainly be considered plot holes.

This is a decent enough try by Netflix, but isn't exactly groundbreaking.

The Good:

Some nice ideas

Looks the part

The Bad:

Too many missing pieces

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Netflix is SO outstandingly inconsistent with the quality of their films

I want an advanced AI!

But seriously, this should have been one of those death game movies

Good and interesting but could have had a better story line

[dwbowes · 7/10 · 30 June 2018]

The interaction between the captive and the AI was really good. The way they made the captivator seem so ignorant and passive kinda threw me off. I liked it tho, there are scenes where you really feel the moment.

If you crave sci-fi, AI you may find it passable

[milinskis · 4/10 · 29 June 2018]

This movie is for passing time, turn it on and browse on your phone. But when you start to pay attention, some of the details, character decisions and dialogues seem cringy and also not much action here, motives not convincing, cheesy turn of events. Infinity chamber also explored similar topic and it is far superior in my opinion. I can give 4 stars to encourage exploration of such topic in movies, but something in this is lacking. it's close but sorry i just can't call it decent.

Good sci-fi

[bnessi · 6/10 · 1 July 2018]

Good story, acting pretty good with suspense..... Do not take into consideration bad reviews, if you like sci-fi definitely worth

Uh... yeah. Pretty bad

[xanderprassinos · 2/10 · 13 July 2018]

I wanted to like it.. but it really struggled to keep my interest, it was just horrible. So many "how convenient" moments. Maika and Ed didn't perform that well. Felt like a really budget production. Also so many things that just didn't make sense.. like Alex (round about way) basically telling Julia the way to get out..

Crazy Amazing!

[hailahkhaled · 7/10 · 28 January 2019]

For real this is really not my tape of movie science fiction it's not my thing But this one i really enjoyed it No doubt Netflix!

Did not execute on its fabulous potential.

[gminetos-38105 · 2/10 · 19 July 2018]

Here was my rating history every half hour: 9 -> 6 -> 2. Yes, it rapidly deteriorated from a promising start. It's got good production values and the relatively unknown principals added realism. However, I found myself siding with the antagonist as the film progressed, I just wanted Julia to meet her end. And if anyone but me watched the final 10 minutes then you realize the stunningly stupid ending cannot possibly result in a rating better than 4! So disappointed at what could've been.

I really enjoyed it!

[felixjackson · 8/10 · 4 July 2018]

I don't agree with the negative reviews. Strong lead, quirky plot, good visuals, interesting scenario, exciting tension. It was similar to other films within the AI genre, but different enough to be unpredictable. I'd definitely recommend it. Watch it thinking it is going to be bad, and I think you'll really enjoy it!

Solid AI effort

[Henry-klein · 6/10 · 14 April 2019]

I would actually give this a 6.5 and encourage AI fans to watch. It could have been much better without the cheesy killer robot and plot holes with a villain who is detached from his hostage... if you are going to spend this much on a science-fi production think through the plot and details.

Ex Machina as done by tweens

[viddyd33 · 1/10 · 10 August 2018]

Feels like Ex Machina if it was written by a twelve year-old who read one Isaac Asimov short story and was like, "Ooo! I want to write sci-fi!"

I can see how this movie would seem smart and original to people who haven't experienced good sci-fi. It would be like taking candy corn to a remote tribe untouched by mankind and them loving it for its exquisite sweetness. However, anyone who has read more than a couple quality sci-fi books or has adequate experience with the genre will see how weak, unintelligent, contradictory, and overall amateur the screenplay is. Direction is fine, acting is fine, CG is decent, it's just the script that sucks. Here's an example...

The main girl's relationship with the AI and her journey of convincing it that it's human and giving it emotions is extremely flawed and doesn't follow any logical or meaningful route to how AI would go from point A to B. It's pretty much, "I'm going to inflict pain on you!" "Wait! You're a person and we're friends!" "Oh, really? Let me break all my instructions and parameters and believe everything you say now." That's just lazy. The security holes in the "AI" would be so bad that they're not even sensible in any stretch of the imagination. Good sci-fi would establish its learning parameters and let her use them to curve it to her will. Instead she just teaches it flatly like a child who takes her every word at face value (with several cutesy montages of then buddying up). Mind you, she knows nothing about it or how it learns while the man who DESIGNED it has absolutely no success in training it back despite his thorough understanding of how it thinks, learns, and operates. Like I said, crappy sci-fi.

Love it!

[mounirabbas · 6/10 · 27 March 2019]

Very nice & cool movie. maika did a marvelous job with this one! the storyline and how they brought this AL to it and connected both of them was very unexpected and beautiful at the same time!! i was gonna jump and cheer for that ending: ) it got me really good lol

Pretty good for the most part

[TdSmth5 · 7/10 · 27 March 2021]

A girl goes clubbing, she makes out with different guys and steals their valuables. She then goes to a pawn shop to sell everything. On her way home she's grabbed by a black SUV. She wakes up in a concrete basement cell with 2 other people. They are all wearing some mouth covering for some reason. She immediately plans her escape, manages to cause a huge explosion so all three can escape upstairs to a fancy apartment. Then suddenly a metal statue transforms into a robot and kills the other 2 and grabs the girl. Then the running the place shows up.

He is Alex, the world's foremost tech entrepeneur who is working on his latest and greatest AI project called Tau. Tau runs his apartment. It controls a bunch of little flying cleaning drones as well as the attack robots but Tau also has a voice and orders the girl around. Julia and Alex come to a sort of reluctant agreement. She will submit to his experiments if he gives her clothes and food. But she continues to cause trouble. Alex conducts experiments on her to turn her mind and emotions into an algorithm for Tau and she's an excellent candidate. Problem is that at the end of the experiments the subjects are eliminated. Every day she has to do little mental tests but instead tries to find ways to escape. Eventually she engages in conversations with Tau and starts gaining its trust. Alex leaves every morning for work. His company is facing some deadline for a billion dollar government contract. Yet during conferences with his executives he doesn't care, just offers to be ready on time.

In the meantime Julia and Tau have grown close. She makes it feel like a person, feeding its emotions by reading books to it about poetry and music and telling it about the world outside. Alex notices as Tau doesn't punish Julia swiftly enough. In turn Alex punishes Tau by erasing some of its firmware i.e. It's "memories" which cause Tau to scream in pain.

Eventually, Julia's attempts become more successful with the help of Tau, but then there they also have a falling out before the final attempt.

I enjoyed Tau quite a bit, even though there's a lot that doesn't work. Tau's voice is awful. I couldn't believe it was voiced by Oldman. Terrible. Skrein never convinces. Cinematography is poor. Too often it's too dark and too monotone (usually all red). They could have done more with Alex's character. And why on earth doesn't Julia just comply for the sake of a good life or even try to seduce Alex who lives by himself. Doesn't make sense. For a sci-fi movie there isn't a whole lot of science here. The visual effects are pretty good though. Overall a strong effort that could have offered a bit more though.