Movies about rogue AI technologies aren’t new, but they are becoming increasingly relevant as AI takes on a bigger role in our everyday lives. With dozens of AI-related movies to borrow from, it’s easy to write a story about the dangers of artificial intelligence and the philosophical conundrums that might arise if an AI system were to become sentient. What’s not as easy is doing something new with that concept. We’ve seen what happens when AI becomes self-aware (Ex Machina), we’ve seen what happens when AI falls in love (Her), and we’ve seen what happens when AI refuses to take orders (2001: A Space Odyssey). With so many good plot ideas already taken, making an interesting AI movie in the 2020s isn’t about finding a unique story, but finding the right emotional hook. For director Robert Rippberger’s sci-fi thriller Renner, that hook is its titular character — a good-hearted but socially inept tech genius whose low confidence and crippling social anxiety make it difficult for him to make meaningful connections.
Frankie Muniz as Renner in RENNER. Photo courtesy of Slated.
While the script conceives Renner as a kind and misunderstood outcast who could easily gain the sympathies of any viewer, it’s largely Frankie Muniz’s engaging and genuine performance that makes Renner (both the character and the movie as a whole) stand out. Muniz (of Malcolm in the Middle fame) approaches the role with authenticity and depth, making even some of the awkward dialogue and templated, predictable scenes feel natural. While Renner doesn’t have anything revolutionary to offer to the AI genre, it does take us on an engaging emotional journey via its strong lead character, giving us a few AI-related existential nuggets to chew on along the way.
Recognizing his own lack of confidence, Renner invents an AI assistant named Salenus (masterfully voiced by Marcia Gay Harden) to help him work on self-improvement techniques. At the start of the movie, Renner is working with Salenus to build up enough courage to talk to his attractive new neighbor, Jamie (Violett Beane). After passing Jamie in the hallway one morning, Renner finally musters up enough confidence to strike up a conversation with her — and by some stroke of luck, he finds himself with plans to have her over for dinner. Even though Jamie brings her rude and obnoxious brother, Chad (Taylor Gray), along with her, she and Renner still hit it off. Just as Renner begins to think he may be headed somewhere with the girl next door, other aspects of his life take a turn for the worse. The once supportive Salenus changes her tone, cautioning him against a relationship. Meanwhile, Renner’s anxiety is worse than ever, making him wonder if Salenus may have a point about his relationship with Jamie.
L-R: Frankie Muniz as Renner and Violett Beane as Jamie in RENNER. Photo courtesy of Slated.
Renner is full of potential, and it gets a lot of things right. It has solid performances, a steady pace, and just the right mood and tone. But in several aspects, it also gets in its own way. In the first few scenes, the script introduces Jamie and Renner as two oversimplified stock characters: the awkward nerd and the hot (but also really nice) girl who breaks social norms by talking to him. It forces its characters to fit these stereotypes with stiff and cumbersome dialogue, trying a little too hard to make Renner into a Sheldon Cooper-esque nerd who’s too logical for his own good. Both characters develop as the story unfolds, and their initial characterization makes more sense later on. Still, those early scenes can feel cringey and awkward. Luckily, Muniz and Beane make it work as best as they can. Much like her costar, Beane brings her character to the screen with authenticity and ease, making the all-too-perfect Jamie seem natural. There isn’t exactly chemistry between the two characters, but the performances do make Renner feel more authentic.
While the dialogue can be uneven, Renner establishes and maintains an ominous tone with its dim, futuristic-noir lighting and chilling score. It allows us to experience Renner’s anxiety through precisely edited montages which create and build tension while taking us through his obsessive hygiene and cleaning routines. Marcia Gay Harden’s voiceover performance as Salenus also contributes to the foreboding tone. She masters the creepy timbre and cadence of an AI assistant, giving Salenus a voice that’s just uncanny enough to establish distrust. While Renner isn’t the most shocking or mind-bending thriller, it does keep its audience engaged with a steady pace and a consistent sense of dread. As the lead character spirals further into anxiety and uncertainty, Renner balances out its somewhat predictable plot with high emotional stakes.
Taylor Gray as Chad in RENNER. Photo courtesy of Slated.
Renner doesn’t introduce any groundbreaking ideas to the AI genre, but it does raise some interesting questions as it explores the intersections between AI and psychology. Unfortunately, it drops the ball with those intriguing questions and themes in its rushed third act. In its final scenes, Renner abandons its own logic and does a thematic 180, allowing the ideas it introduced with the first two-thirds of the plot to crash and burn. If nothing else, there are moments of humor and irony in the final sequences that make them interesting to watch, but, overall, they leave you feeling empty. Renner has the potential to do something different with the AI-gone-wrong concept, and it certainly has a good hook with its strong lead performances. But in its final moments, it fails to stick the landing.
Available on VOD March 28th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Renner website.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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