My Review of Her (2013)

Rating Scale:

12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made

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Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for tonight! This evening, I will be reviewing Her from 2013! Now, I just watched this film not too long ago for the first time as I was rather curious about it. After seeing it, it was both an interesting movie and a somewhat relatable one at the same time. It may not be that great, but the way they wrote the story here was very intriguing to me. Allow me to explain:

This is about a depressed, introverted man who works for a business that has professional writers write letters for those that cannot write personal letters themselves. After going through a divorce (and unwilling to sign divorce papers), Theodore comes across a program that provides artificial intelligent virtual assistants that were designed to adapt and evolve. Thus, he gets one of those who names herself Samantha. From that point on, Theo and Sam experience a verbal intimacy unlike anything he’s gone through before.

Now, this was a rather interesting way to write the premise for the film. It shows us the emotional pain people in relationships often go through and how we cope with such discomforts. The movie also does a pretty good job showing us how introverts use different ways to cope with their situations. Joaquin Phoenix did really well in his performance here; seeing his bottled up emotions, mannerisms, and expressions indicate just how broken his character is.

As we can see in this movie, relationships aren’t easy. They really aren’t, and breakups can seriously do a number on a person’s mental and emotional health. From my experience, when you go through a process of finding someone you think is the one for you, you will eventually discover who they are as a person, and if either party does something to the other for a period of time in a negative way…well, you already get the point.

Scarlett Johansson did a pretty good vocal performance as Samantha. I didn’t think it would be possible for an AI computer to be so emotionally connected to a human being like that. The only thing that confuses me is the concept of verbal intimacy…without any physical contact whatsoever. You know…never mind that. I don’t wanna know.

The other factors I found to be strange were some bizarre lines of dialogue that sound too cringeworthy and awkward even by rated R standards—as well as Chris Pratt’s supporting role as Paul. I’m sorry but he didn’t stand out to me in any way and didn’t do much for the plot at all.

The acting was great, but the score is rather forgettable and below average. Nothing remarkable about it.

In conclusion, the main takeaway from this is the fact that everyone (introverts and extroverts) have different ways of coping with their emotional problems, and if it involves artificial intelligence programs, then go right for it. If you want to focus more on your hobbies, your work, your education, your family, or even on your love life, then make sure you have a plan and stick with it. Consistency is key, folks. I’ll give this a solid 7/10. It was pretty fun to watch for the first time, but it isn’t my type of movie. That’s all.

Peace.