In general, SFs don't make you spare a tear.Even if it is about robots or the end of the world, they cannot be as exciting as a love movie or a drama.Especially, from a Postapocaliptic SF you expect scenes of violence, zombie and so on.But SF Finch manages to touch you.You may think that a trio consisting of a man, a dog and a robot would not have to excite you, but you have to see the movie to figure out how well this part is.
Apocalyptic fiction is a subgenous of the science-fiction in which events related to the end of civilization are described due to a potential existential catastrophe, such as global nuclear war, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, astronomical impact, cyber revolt, technological singularity, supernatural phenomena, divine judgment, climate change, exhaustion of resources or other general disasters.
Postapocaliptic fiction takes place in a world or civilization in which a general disaster has already taken place.The time interval can be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the sufferings or psychology of survivors, or much later, often including the theme of the catastrophe (or civilization before the catastrophe) that has been forgotten or became mythology.Post-apocalyptic stories often occur in a agrarian world, in a non-technological future or in a world where there are only a few dispersed elements of technology.There is a considerable degree of blur between this form of science fiction and the one that deals with dystopian worlds.
In "Finch", a man, a robot and a dog form a less ordinary family.Finch Weinberg (Tom Hanks) is a robotic engineer and one of the few survivors of a cataclystic solar event that left the world in a desert.He builds a robot to take care of his dog after he dies.Finch, who lives in an underground bunker for a decade, has built his own world with his dog, Goodyear.He thus creates a robot (Caleb Landry Jones's voice) to take care of Goodyear.While the trio starts on a dangerous journey in a Western West, Finch strives to show his creation, which Jeff baptizes, the joy of being alive.Their journey is full of both challenges and humor, because Finch is difficult to determine Jeff and Goodyear to understand each other.
Finch, a Postapocaliptic SF that makes you laugh and cry at the same time
If you create a SF movie to conquer even the most cynical spectators, the list of ingredients could look like "Finch".Tom Hanks?Yes.Special effects with high budget?Yes.A cute animal?Yes.A robot?Yes.Lessons full of wisdom about life?Yes.
"Finch" requires a whole range of emotions.Asked, in an interview, about how he balances the more serious moments with the comedy, Tom Hanks said that "the actor's job is to be at the height of the text and the expectations related to each piece."
If you like this movie with "Pinocchio", you don't even make mistakes.Finch is the Creator, and Jeff is the teacher."Finch" is rather a fairy tale, about a man whose interactions and experiences with the robot he created can make a mechanical version plus the artificial intelligence of a true boy.As shown in "Cast Away", Hanks can make conversations with lifeless, captivating and even exciting objects."Finch" offers us a robot that not only speaks, but learns and grows.
A solar eruption destroyed the ozone layer and most human life, animals and vegetation on the ground with devastating radiation.Now, even a few seconds in the sunlight burn the exposed skin.Finch, sometime engineer and expert in computers, is a loneliness.Creating gadgets and searching for food in a high-tech costume kept him busy and helped him stay alive for 15 years after the end of almost everything life meant.
His dog, Goodyear, and a nice robot named Dewey are his only comrades.But as the film takes place, Finch has to make some changes.One of them refers to a rapidly approaching storm, which is so devastating that they can no longer stay in the house/laboratory in St.Louis.
The other intrigue becomes more obvious when we see Finch spitting blood when coughing.And so, he builds a larger robot, scanning his entire library to load it as a memory.But the storm is approaching very quickly.There is a moment of ironic humor while the computer program that Finch uses to schedule the robot responds with a too familiar message on the screen: "Please call the technical assistance for help."And it's not the only hilarious scene in the movie, but I don't tell you all - you have to enjoy them alone.
So, because they have to rush, only 72% of the data are loaded in the robot and there is time for a few fast lessons about vital issues, such as walking without falling.
Like any good engineer, Finch scheduled the robot with the famous Directives of Isaac Asimov, but also adds another directive.Instead of Asimov's primacy on human life and well -being, Finch tells the robot that his first priority is to take care of the dog.As the storm approaches, they go to a 1984 Fleetwood RV with solar panels.Finch wants to go to San Francisco and see the Golden Gate bridge.He has never seen him, but since he was a teenager he has a postcard with a picture with her, from his father.He has no idea if he is safe there, but they "will go to the west, over the mountains, in search of places that promise."
The robot can only have 72% of the loaded data, but it has clearly an artificial intelligence algorithm.Thus, the robot becomes more "human" along the way.His speech becomes clearer and more expressive and also shows his increased sense of personality asking for a name.
Hanks is wonderful to watch, as always, and keeps your attention effortlessly, with its unmistakable talent.
If you are looking for a Postapocaliptic SF full of action or even horror, with zombie colliding or scenes of violence, Finch is not the answer.Look if you appreciate the artistic talent, a good actor and a beautiful story, even if the scenario is somehow predictable-Finch dies, and the robot is responsible for taking care of the dog, as he promised his creator.From there, we imagine each one.Maybe, if you can leave your phone aside throughout the movie, it means you didn't waste your time.