‘Renner’ Review
Stars: Frankie Muniz, Marcia Gay Harden, Violett Beane, Taylor Gray | Written by Robert Rippberger, David Largman Murray, Luke and Martin Medina | Directed by Robert Rippberger
No, this isn’t a biopic about Jeremy Renner and his near-fatal run-in with a snowplough. The new film from director Robert Rippberger (Those Who Walk Away, Public Enemy Number One) is about a computer coder named Renner (Frankie Muniz; Sharknado: Heart of Sharkness, Stay Alive). He’s wealthy and successful, but like most Hollywood techies, he’s a hopeless introvert and can’t bring himself to talk to the neighbour he’s crushing on. To help with that, he’s developed Salenus, an AI voiced by Marcia Gay Harden (The Mist, Fifty Shades of Grey) to help him become more self-confident and assertive.
At first, it seems to work, and he works up the nerve to talk to Jamie (Violett Beane; Flay, The Flash) and for reasons unexplained, she becomes interested in him as well. This puts him in another awkward position when she brings her brother Chad (Taylor Gray; Star Wars: Rebels, Saturday Night) to dinner with her. No surprise that he’s a raging asshole who does his best to ruin the evening.
While Renner is billed as a science fiction thriller, the script by Rippberger, David Largman Murray (Night Watcher, Cracked Advice Board) along with Luke and Martin Medina who previously collaborated on the short Amerita, spends much of its first hour feeling like a slow paced romantic drama.
A big part of the problem is that Renner himself is such a twitch, I couldn’t imagine Jamie being interested in him at all. He’s not just socially awkward, he’s germophobic and has serious OCD issues. These may be the result of growing up with an abusive mother whose personality he’s managed to code into Salenus. He ends up coming off like a mix of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and Norman Bates, especially in the last act, when the film finally remembers that it’s supposed to be a thriller.
Another problem is that, as evil AI goes, Salenus is distinctly underwhelming. Compared to Margaux, who could lethally control a house, or M3gan, who could go into Chucky mode and hunt you down. All she can do is try to manipulate you and mess with your mind. Granted, that can be effective if someone’s mind is already a mess, but it’s not particularly exciting to watch.
What Renner does have going for it is some impressive set design by Sonia Foltarz (Unidentified Objects, A Wounded Fawn) who makes the retro-futuristic, and nearly deserted, apartment building the leads live in both beautiful and menacing. There’s also Salenus’ housing, shaped like a giant, unblinking and constantly observing eye. With a bit of help from cinematographer Sean Emer (Best Christmas Movies Ever!, All Women Do It) produces an unsettling effect.
The acting is also good, with Muniz doing a surprisingly decent job in a rare serious role. Beane makes for an engaging and cute heroine, while Gray is effectively dickish playing a dick.
The swerve Renner serves up in the final act isn’t as big a surprise as it could have been with better writing and characterization. It also comes at a point where a lot of viewers may have lost interest. It does deliver a disturbingly effective dose of computer-assisted torture. It’s not enough to save the film, but at least it lets it finish on a strong note. Or a humorous one if you stay for the post-credits scene.
Renner had the potential to be an interesting film, but horrendous pacing and characterization stop it in its tracks. It’s not a total waste of time if you’re an AI film completist, but you may want to wait until it turns up somewhere like Tubi to check it out.
** 2/5
Seismic Releasing have released Renner to US cinemas, with a digital release planned for some time later this year.
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