Quartile rating: 4.5/10 · 1 rating
Julian Michaels has designed the ultimate resort: VICE, where anything goes and the customers can play out their wildest fantasies with artificial inhabitants who look, think and feel like humans. When an artificial becomes self-aware and escapes, she finds herself caught in the crossfire between Julian's mercenaries and a cop who is hell-bent on shutting down Vice, and stopping the violence once and for all.
Vice (2015) is a low-budget sci-fi thriller that retreads well-worn Westworld/AI-awakening territory without adding meaningful new ideas. The plot is derivative and formulaic, borrowing liberally from more distinguished works without developing its own identity. Acting is serviceable at best, with Bruce Willis in obvious paycheck mode delivering minimal effort. Cinematography is functional but unremarkable, typical of direct-to-video production values. Novelty is very low given how thoroughly the premise had already been explored in superior films and TV. The ending resolves predictably with little impact. Across the board, this is a below-to-average film in every dimension, consistent with its poor reputation.