ON A FINANCIAL STATEMENT, I NOTICED for the first time a deduction was taken for “other tax.” I had never seen this before and had no idea what it could be. I found a customer service phone number on the statement and called to find out. After a couple of rings, an automated message came on the line thanking me for the call. Thanking me?!?! I would have preferred there to have been an explanation on the form so I would not have had to make the phone call. The voice next began listing possible reasons for my call, such as if I needed to check on my account balances, dial extension 1102 or to open a new account dial extension 1150. I sat and listened to nine different options before the voice asked me to say in a few words the reason for my call. When I said, “questioning other tax deduction on statement,” the voice asked if I needed a replacement ATM card. I said no and the voice asked me to repeat my request. After trying again and getting the same response, I said “help” into the phone receiver. The voice tried asking something else, but I talked over it and repeated my request for help. Before connecting me to a customer relations representative, the voice said, it needed to ask me a couple of questions about my account so it could connect me to the correct party. I provided the information and was put on hold.      A COUPLE OF MINUTES PASSED BEFORE a different voice came on the line and asked how they could help me. At first, I was not sure if it was a human or an AI generated voice asking me; however, after a couple of interactions I realized it was not human. It also did not comprehend my request. We went back and forth with a few exchanges where they would reply with an incorrect response until, I became so frustrated I blurted out, “customer service.” Of course, the artificial voice had to confirm that I wanted to speak to customer service, which I sternly replied, “Yes.” So once again, I was put back on hold but instead of hearing a list of options I had non-descript music playing in my ear. By now, I had been on this call for nearly 15 minutes and my frustration level mixed with anger was rising. Finally, the music stopped, and an actual person was on the line. Hallelujah! Though she had to go through her list of security questions to confirm my identity, she was able to answer my question about the other tax deduction on my financial statement. I thanked her and quickly ended the call. Why couldn’t I have just started out with her instead of all the automated messages and the artificial intelligence exchanges. You can now understand why I felt the same way about AI as the main character in this dramatic, action adventure, science fiction film.      A BRILLIANT DATA ANALYST WHO HAS a deep mistrust for AI joins a mission to neutralize a rogue robot who is threatening humankind. The only way she can help is to embrace AI. With Jennifer Lopez (Shotgun Wedding, Marry Me) as Atlas Shepherd, Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, One True Loves) as Harlan Shepherd, Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction, This is Us-TV) as Colonel Elias Banks, Mark Strong (The Critic, Shazam! Franchise) as Gen. Jake Boothe and Abraham Popoola (Cruella, The Marvels) as Casca Decius; this was all about Jennifer struggling and screaming through most of the film. The script was generic and did not offer much character development, besides the direction being poorly done. I also thought the special effects were rudimentary, nothing spectacular. Through most of this picture, I thought I was seeing bits and pieces of previous other films from this genre; the whole production was not very original. It was a shame because, as I have said before, Jennifer has a strong believable screen presence which with the right combination of script and direction would have made this movie a better viewing experience. Instead, I found myself being almost as frustrated as I was with my recent experience with AI.

1 ¾ stars