With the number of films that are released monthly, it’s easy to occasionally miss one, no matter how incredible it is. But thankfully with the advent of streamers, it’s easier than ever to track down those you missed.

One of the latest additions to Netflix is the 2015 sci-fi thriller Ex Machina. The film is especially timely in the modern day, given its focus on artificial intelligence, with the plot following a programmer aiming to discover whether a robot in the form of a humanoid woman has passed the Turing Test, which is whether a robot’s intelligence has matched or surpassed that of a person’s.

The synopsis reads: “Caleb Smith, a programmer at a huge Internet company, wins a contest that enables him to spend a week at the private estate of Nathan Bateman, his firm’s brilliant CEO. When he arrives, Caleb learns that he has been chosen to be the human component in a Turing test to determine the capabilities and consciousness of Ava, a beautiful robot. However, it soon becomes evident that Ava is far more self-aware and deceptive than either man imagined.”

Upon its release, Ex Machina was critically acclaimed, with the film receiving two Academy Award nominations, for its 2016 ceremony, and five BAFTA nominations; it walked away with an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Publications like Rolling Stone and Business Insider have named the film among the best of the previous decade.

WATCH: See the trailer for Ex Machina

Critical acclaim

Fans have been universal in their praise for Ex Machina, with one penning: “Ex Machina is the best science fiction film on artificial intelligence since Blade Runner. While Blade Runner is an action thriller that relies more on its epic visuals to tell its story, Ex Machina is a dialogue-driven psychological thriller that slowly works its way under your skin. Thought-provoking and terrifyingly suspenseful, an induced state of paranoia may linger long after the end credits begin to roll.“

A second shared: “This film is so intriguing, I find it quite unique, it’s disturbing, but more than that it’s a story of paranoia, of power, but in a bizarre way it’s a story of hope as well. It’s pure fantasy, it’s almost like a Disney story rehashed and turned into sci fi, it’s crazy at times, but it works.“

Alicia Vikander in a still image from Ex Machina© Alamy Stock Photo
The film was heavily praised for its visual effects

And a third posted: “Quiet dialogue scenes between two characters are filmed in such an impactful [way], making them feel hauntingly austere, sweet and innocent, or terrible and frightening, through meticulous use of composition, light and sound. The film really does run the gamut of emotions, surprisingly funny one minute and gut-wrenchingly tense and weird the next, while the script twists and turns, constantly unsettling your assumptions about what will happen.”

In a four-star review for The Guardian, Mark Kermode wrote: “With its reflective surfaces, glacial soundscapes, and Kubrickian geometric compositions, this is knowingly seductive sci-fi cinema, its slyly subversive allegiances hidden by the two-way mirror of the silver screen, its androids dreaming of much more than mere electric sheep.”

Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson in a still image from Ex Machina© Alamy Stock Photo
Several called the Ex Machina the best sci-fi film

Empire’s Dan Jolin gave the film the same rating, musing: “Ex Machina is old-fashioned, grown-up science-fiction. It is executed with the scrutiny we’d expect from a Kubrick or (more recently) a Nolan, but it has a darkly satirical pulse too that distinguishes it and warms its appeal.”

Who stars in Ex Machina?

The film has a very slimmed down cast, and it’s led by Domhnall Gleeson (Peter Rabbit), who plays programmer Caleb Smith, who endeavours to discover the true intelligence of the robotic Ava. Ava is played by Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), and Alicia was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her performance in the film. Tech CEO Nathan Bateman, who designed Ava, is played by Oscar Isaac (Star Wars).

Sonoya Mizuno and Alicia Vikander in a still image from Ex Machina© Alamy Stock Photo
Alicia Vikander starred as humanoid robot Ava

Also featured in the cast are Sonoya Mizuno (House of the Dragon), Gana Bayarsaikhan (Intelligence), Corey Johnson (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Symara Templeman (Pennyworth), Tiffany Pisani (Britain’s Next Top Model), Lina Alminas (Killing Eve) and Claire Selby, who was making her professional debut.