Overview
- After a Berlinale Special screening, the film opened in U.S. theaters on Feb. 13 and is currently exclusive to cinemas.
- Sam Rockwell leads as a time traveler who storms a Los Angeles diner to recruit a mismatched crew for a one‑night mission against a looming AI threat.
- Early critics commend Rockwell’s magnetism and Verbinski’s energetic visuals but fault an overbusy, episodic structure and abrupt tonal shifts.
- Verbinski and screenwriter Matthew Robinson publicly emphasize the movie’s anti‑AI stance and have addressed a sensitive, off‑screen school‑shooting subplot as intentional provocation for discussion.
- The release is backed by a topical promotion from Briarcliff and Fever offering complimentary tickets to people who can show they were displaced by AI.