Superintelligence
2020, Comedy, 1h 45m
63 Reviews 100+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
You won't need Superintelligence to steer clear of the latest forgettable comedy to fail to take full advantage of Melissa McCarthy's talents. Read critic reviews
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Carol
George
Dennis
Superintelligence
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President Monahan
Director Tyson
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Critic Reviews for Superintelligence
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (43)
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Melissa McCarthy is such a wonderful actor that it remains a shame that she keeps doing humorless and desperate movies like this.
December 8, 2020 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review… -
It's frustrating when a film begins with a promise and then settles on doing the same old, same old.
December 4, 2020 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review… -
Yet another bust from McCarthy and Falcone. McCarthy pops doing what she does best every now and then, but it's just not enough to support an unfunny AI romance that doesn't seem to understand how technology works.
December 2, 2020 | Rating: 1.5/5 | Full Review… -
McCarthy has the movie if not completely to herself, then nearly so. Even though the innocuous Superintelligence is on the bland side, it remains hard not to enjoy two hours with McCarthy.
December 1, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review… -
Though nominally a sci-fi comedy, Superintelligence gives viewers almost nothing to look at beyond its appealing actors, often shot in soft focus.
December 1, 2020 | Rating: C- | Full Review… -
A rogue A.I. makes life by turns terrific and terrifying for "the most average person on Earth."
November 28, 2020 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Superintelligence
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Dec 02, 2020Given the sad and off-putting output from Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone when they collaborate, it's a small victory that Super Intelligence is only really super bland and forgettable. McCarthy stars as an everywoman picked by a highly intelligent A.I. to be the test subject for whether or not humanity should be saved or wiped out of existence. It sounds like an amusing premise but what it becomes is just a boring romantic comedy. The super A.I. (voiced by James Corden) becomes more or less a magic genie, and now our heroine has all her wishes granted. She has a huge new bank account, a new car, a new luxury condo, and all to impress the guy she let get away played by Bobby Canavale. That's right, the super A.I., meant to test and judge mankind, is really just the world's most advanced wingman and trying to get his human pal some love. As far as tests go this seems a bit weak. This mighty A.I. should be working against our protagonist, throwing increasing obstacles that push her out of her comfort zone, rather than just handing her everything and looking from afar with approval. The comedy is resolutely flat save for the inherent charms of McCarthy, who doesn't seem challenged by anything in the movie. Much of the film is watching McCarthy talking into high angle CCTV cameras. Visually, it's quite boring. Super Intelligence feels like an interesting idea that can't be bothered to find anything interesting in execution. It's standard rom-com fluff but the two characters aren't even appealing together. I found Canavale's character to be far more annoying than endearing. I've found that Falcone is a bad director for his wife. He encourages her worst onscreen habits and doesn't have the presence or vision to be able to assert restraint or imagination. If Falcone is attached as director, you know you're getting McCarthy doing her familiar shtick with little self-control. She's still a highly appealing comedian, and an underrated dramatic actor, but the only super intelligence here are the people who avoid this film. Nate's Grade: CNate Z Super Reviewer
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Nov 27, 2020These days, with moviegoing being the way that it is, it's hard to grasp whether a film is being sent to streaming due to the studio not having faith in it, or simply because they're doing the best they can with the amazing product they have. I'm a huge fan of Melissa McCarthy and always look forward to the next starring role she chooses, but Superintelligence was the final nail in the coffin for films being directed by her husband, Ben Falcone. To be honest, I don't mind him as an actor in comedies, but when it comes to directing, I just don't think he chooses the right projects. I didn't like their first outing together in Tammy, I liked The Boss even less, and Life of the Party was too tame to enjoy. While I have to admit that Superintelligence is probably the best film they have made together, here's why I believe it's still one of the weaker releases of 2020. The film begins with Carol Peters (Melissa McCarthy) enjoying her average, everyday lifestyle, when a new piece of A.I. decides to invade her life, controlling and manipulating her, with the ultimate goal of destroying and ending the world. Movies like this have been attempted a few times now over the last couple of years, but nothing will ever come closer to the lightning in a bottle Spike Jonze made with his film Her. I mildly enjoyed 2019s Jexi, but that was also a throwaway film that wasn't memorable at all. On top of feeling like an imitation, it also tries to balance drama and comedy far too often. The climax of the film decides to get completely serious and I just didn't buy any of it. With all of that said, the saving graces were easily the duo of Melissa McCarthy and Bobby Cannavale. Whether you're talking about films like Chef, Blue Jasmine, Danny Collins, and even Ant-Man, Bobby Cannavale has become one of my favourite actors in supporting roles. His charisma in nearly every role he has ever taken always leaps off the screen to me. Superintelligence gets off to a plodding start and his character doesn't really appear in the film until about halfway through, but I instantly started liking the film a little more and giving certain things a pass when McCarthy and Cannavale were on-screen together. I was able to buy into their history and thought their scenes elevated the film immensely overall. Sadly, their presence is all that saved this one from me hating it, which I usually don't say about many films. I think the screenplay written by Steve Mallory is the main issue here. In retrospect after looking up his previous efforts, he has appeared in very small roles in many of Melissa McCarthy's films and has only ever written one other Hollywood film in The Boss. To me, that just says this crew had a bunch of fun making a movie together, which is great and all, but the movie is not a reflection of that fun. There was also something about the overall tone that just felt off to me. The movie looked and felt like a comedy, but the majority of it is a complete drama. I just couldn't invest myself in anything that was going on. In the end, Superintelligence takes familiar ideas and runs with them in ways that do not mesh well together. I was bored by how slow the first act was, became slightly more interested when she started to interact with more humans but was ultimately let down by how anti-climactic the conclusion was. Movies that have unique premises that do not go the extra mile to stand out are more frustrating to me than films that try very hard and fail. I saw potential here, but not enough was done to impress me overall. Superintelligence is now streaming on through HBO, and even more the most hardcore Melissa McCarthy fans, I really can't recommend this one.KJ P Super Reviewer
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