Replicas (2018)

Replicas is the kind of sci-fi thriller that hooks you with a big, pulpy idea and then dares you to follow it into morally messy territory, powered by a committed, anxious performance that keeps the stakes feeling painfully human. It’s less about pristine hard science than the intoxicating what-if of technology colliding with grief, and the movie moves with the lean momentum of a late-night page-turner—tense, earnest, and surprisingly emotional when it counts. Yes, it’s a little rough around the edges, but that’s part of its guilty-pleasure charm: it swings for the fences with its concepts and keeps you entertained even when you can see the seams. If you like your sci-fi a touch melodramatic and your thrills fueled by obsession and consequence, this one is far more enjoyable than its reputation suggests.

Replicas wants to be a sleek, morally thorny sci-fi thriller about grief, obsession, and the price of playing god, and you can see the outline of a better movie in there. The problem is the execution: the script lurches from idea to idea with logic gaps big enough to yank you out of every “tense” moment, and the characters often behave however the plot needs rather than like actual people. Performances (including a game Keanu Reeves) are stuck selling clunky dialogue, which makes the film feel unintentionally funny when it’s aiming for tragedy. If you enjoy pulpy B-movie sci-fi and don’t mind nonsense as long as the concept is interesting, you might have a decent time; if you want smart, emotionally grounded storytelling, skip it.