2036 Origin Unknown (2018) --- "There Must Always Be A Human Factor."

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     Directed and based on the story by Hasraf Dulull (The Beyond), and written by Austen Atkinson (Alien Races ) and Gary Hall (Pastel), 2036: Origin Unknown (2018) is a cheesy sci-fi film that takes some inspiration from Arthur C. Clark's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The film starts out in 2030 when Mars 1, a space shuttle for the first manned mission to Mars, explodes and 6 years later space centers all over are still trying to figure out what went wrong. In 2036 the USPC – the new NASA – is run by the Wilson sister, Lena and Mackenzie, alongside ARTI, the new AI system. While Mack and ARTI are using robotic rovers to investigate what happened to Mars 1, they uncover a mysterious black cube on the surface of Mars that could change the future of Earth and the idea of traveling at hyper-light as we know it. What is this cube? What is its purpose? And what does this mean for the people of Earth?

    As aforementioned, Origin Unknown takes some inspiration from A Space Odyssey in a number of areas. First, the Black Cube in the film is similar to the Black Monolith with mysterious powers as a gateway to the Universe. In this film, the Cube mixed some ideas of unimaginable possibilities with some current ideas like magnetism and the space transitioning ability which is supported by scientist today. Secondly, The AI in this film, ARTI, is very similar to HAL. They’re both AI’s given a large amount of power or control and they tend to exude a sense of creepiness because of that. Now the film’s story is both easy and complex. If you enjoyed complex films like A Space Odyssey and cheesy sci-films with primitive CGI then Origin Unknown shouldn’t be hard to watch the film.

     The only issue I have with the story is the use of the year 2036. Currently, it is 2019, so the year 2036 is only 17 years away and while a lot can happen during that timeframe with technological advancements, the film makes it seem like its 100 years in the future. Now if this film came out in the ‘60s or ‘70s then it would make more sense but here I felt like it was an unneeded element.

     The cast is primarily made up of Katee Sackhoff’s (Battlestar Galactica) performance as Mack and Steven Cree’s (Outlander TV, Outlaw King) voice acting as ARTI with a few small appearances from Julie Cox (The Oxford Murders) as Lena and Ray Fearon (The Foreigner) as Sterling, an old co-worker of Mack’s. Sackhoff gives a great performance that brilliantly and convincingly shows a woman is intelligent in her field but also struggles with the speed at which technology is changing, almost making her obsolete. Cree’s voice acting was spot on, it was less creepy than HAL but no less mysterious. The pair works well together.

     Overall, 2036: Origin Unknown (2018) is a cheesy sci-fi film that takes some inspiration from Arthur C. Clark's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The story was easy and complex, the CGI was a bit primitive, and the cast performances were great. The story’s ending is mysterious, unexpected, and thought-provoking. If you enjoyed complex films like A Space Odyssey and cheesy sci-films with primitive CGI then Origin Unknown shouldn’t be hard to watch the film. In fact, you might even enjoy it. Regardless, this film is worth watching, especially by sci-fi fans.

Final Vote --- 5.6 of 10 stars

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