At first, when a supercomputer at MIT is installed with software that transforms it into a super-intelligent, independent thinking machine, it seems like nothing but good news. When that same computer starts independently tinkering with the internet, however, the government has it shut down before it gets any other ideas that could be potentially harmful.
Unbeknownst to the government, however, one of the developers of the software sent a copy to his friend Stephen (Keith Langsdale), who runs the artificial intelligence studies at nearby UMass. Inspired by his new friend, philosopher Jane Hurst (Cate Damon), Stephen and co-worker Alan (Jim Lobley) decide to clandestinely install the software on their own supercomputer, advising it not to call attention to itself, in the hopes that the computer, able to process far more data in a fraction of an instant, while thinking independently like a human, will answer the question of whether there is truly any evidence of God. Unfortunately, the computer comes to its answer, but feels it is inappropriate to share that answer, and instead shuts itself down. Disappointed but undaunted, Stephen tries to figure out a way to trick the computer into giving him the answer.
Douglas Gordon’s The God Question tackles the idea of what would happen if humans developed an intelligence that could surpass our own, and then asked that super-intelligent being all our most challenging questions. It’s an intriguing idea, enough so that the audience, much like the characters in the film, stick it out for just an inkling of what the computer (or in the audience’s case, the filmmakers) might have come up with.
Which is the plus and the minus of the experience. It’s a plus because it is such an alluring question, and naturally one wants to know, even if the answer is ultimately just the filmmakers’ interpretation. There’s a suspense, which breeds a certain amount of impatience. Therein lies the minus, as the longer the film doesn’t answer the question, the more annoyed you might become.
In this case, that means you might become very annoyed. Much of this film is the audience impatiently watching Stephen and Alan impatiently monitor their computer amid fits and starts. Sometimes the film offers up suspense regarding the government becoming more aware of what might be going on, but for the most part it’s waiting and watching other people wait. Which isn’t the most compelling experience.
Now, if the film were aces on any technical level, that might pick up the slack and distract you from the non-action going on. Unfortunately, while the film is not poorly made, it’s not exceptional either. It’s competent, gets the job done. Nothing flashy.
Ultimately, The God Question is a film with a great idea at its core, but it’s not always the most entertaining experience otherwise. In the end you come to similar conclusions as everyone else in the film, as to what the main point of it all is, but that doesn’t change the experience getting there. The audience becomes as impatient and driven as any character, which gives the film a subversive edge, but, again, not an entertaining one.
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Well, Shahbazz, the people who wrote the movie script don’t know the answer, so how could they give you a definitive answer? The answer in the last minute of the movie is, exactly, that the computer cannot give a true answer because it doesn’t feel. It cannot experience emotions or anything of the sort, so it cannot answer “Is there a God?”. The reason is simply because religion is based mostly upon emotions. You could possibly some day, say, prove that there is a God, but right now all we can do is make vaguely accurate conjectures. Religion is based wholey upon faith, and a computer that can only think cannot have faith in something. That is why humans are so special. The truth is, anyone alive today will never know for absolute certainty whether there is a God, and if so, if what religion. We will first have to die to find out. In conclusion, Shahbazz, if you were just looking for the answer, you shouldn’t be watching a movie that is more than an hour long, but you should walk down the street to your nearest church or Mosque. I’m sure they can tell you want you want to hear.
I saw the movie for the 4th time on Tubi, and again, was just as frustrated as Stephen and the other victims of the AI’s inconsideration!
I can give you the answer to “The God Question”… There Is No God, because A. the word “God” is not a name it is a state-of-being, just as our state-of-being is “Human”, in this Modern day-and-age, more and more people have lost loved ones and friends and people close to them in benevolent and malevolent scenarios and all of them were unfair, thereby “testing our faith”, but we humans can only handle being “tested” so far before we realize that Religion is F*****g Useless now and Religion provokes division among all Humans and we get War!!
I just want a simple answer. Not a f*****g story. Just Yes Or No.