Archive
A grieving engineer risks everything in an isolated facility to give artificial intelligence the shape of the person he cannot let go.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- intimate
- ominous
- late night viewing
- quiet weekend
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an engaging and visually accomplished meditation on love, artificial intelligence, and human nature, despite its familiar premise.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
George's increasingly personal interactions with J2 and J3 make machine consciousness, attachment, and jealousy central to the drama.
George develops human-equivalent AI in seclusion, hiding his dangerous objective while working through successive prototypes.
The plot foregrounds a goal George must hide, with clues around memory, death, and the Almore household building toward a consequential ending.
The interactions with the robots and their expressive physical construction are major sources of the film's visual and emotional impact.
Films like Archive, and why
Ex Machina
shared artificial intelligence themes, intimate isolation, and emotionally driven science fiction
The Machine
shared human-machine relationships, memory, loneliness, and melancholic near-future atmosphere
Transcendence
shared mind uploading, grief, transhumanism, and philosophical science fiction drama
Blade Runner 2049
shared android identity, corporate technology, and noir-inflected dystopian science fiction
Movie Details
- Director
- Gavin Rothery
- Release Date
- 2020-08-13
- Runtime
- 109 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (874)
Cast
- Theo James
- Stacy Martin
- Rhona Mitra
- Peter Ferdinando
- Lia Williams
- Toby Jones
- Richard Glover
- Hans Peterson
- Hadisha Sovetova
- Imre Csók
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix Standard with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Archive about?
- A grieving engineer risks everything in an isolated facility to give artificial intelligence the shape of the person he cannot let go.
- What is Archive like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Archive as slow, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Archive violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Archive as mild.
- What did critics think of Archive?
- Critics broadly found the film an engaging and visually accomplished meditation on love, artificial intelligence, and human nature, despite its familiar premise.
- Which films are like Archive?
- Films with a similar feel include Ex Machina, The Machine, Transcendence, and Blade Runner 2049.
- How long is Archive?
- Archive runs 109 minutes.
- Where can I watch Archive?
- In United States, Archive streams on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix Standard with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
