Superintelligence – An Egregiously Lukewarm Comedy

While HBO Max’s newest original film, Superintelligence, starring Melissa McCarthy and directed by her husband, Ben Falcone, is an easy target for internet fodder and Twitter middle school to pile on as it attempts to raise its snark cred, I want to propose an alternative take.

Do I think it’s not very good? Sure. But it highly depends on the lens you choose to view it through. If Superintelligence were released on Netflix, it would venture off into the streaming ether comprised of so many Netflix originals that in many ways it would be expected of a movie such as this. But while I maintain the stance that it was released on the incorrect platform, it would have been better served as a television series.

The premise of Superintelligence centers around a woman named Carol Peters (McCarthy), a bland philanthropist who is the subject of a social experiment of an A.I. who has become aware and is attempting to determine whether or not humanity should be saved, enslaved, or destroyed. Throughout their time together, Carol and the A.I. (voiced by Corden) set off on a series of misadventures that span rekindled love, government operations, self-driving cars, and more. But in reality, it feels like two very separate films forced to merge together though never truly do enough individually to merit its own existence. Equal parts rom-com and spy thriller, it attempts to straddle the line in between both genres but eventually succumbs to the weight of said endeavour thus making its 106 minute running time seem like a lifetime.

McCarthy has effortlessly slipped into a position in her career where being the lead in a comedy (that’s not R-rated) doesn’t fully suit her. Of course, it clearly matters on the project and Falcone knows how to get the most out of her but she never seems as razor-sharp as in previous roles where she has been a part of an ensemble or continually has someone to play off of. In short, I found myself playing a re-casting game while watching Superintelligence to see which female lead could’ve done more with this role. I wasn’t happy with my final choices, however, it doesn’t take away from the fact that McCarthy needed more than what she was given here.

Overall, Superintelligence is forgettable. It’s not awful, as there have been a clear amount of films far worse this year but it falls into the most egregious category – lukewarm. It possesses nothing memorable; no quotable moments, standout performances, or hilarious bits but instead it seems destined to fall victim to the ever-growing catalog of options that many will surely scroll by while looking for something else to watch.

There was a line spoken early on in Superintelligence that described the character of Carol Peters as the “safe” choice and that word perfectly sums up the film. There are better options and the cast is capable of far better even including HBO Max, but for those looking for the perfect background watch while doing literally anything but watching it then look no further than Holidate on Netflix. You’ll thank me later.

still courtesy of HBO Max

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