Renner

Frankie Muniz stars in this stylized sci-fi thriller that trips over its own cleverness. It's now in limited theatrical release and will hit VOD March 18.

"Renner" is a stylized sci-fi thriller that trips over its own cleverness. Instead of being a memorable entry to the genre, it proves to be little more than mediocre due to an ending that frankly was lame. The crazy thing is that I really liked this film, but the ending felt so anticlimactic that it put a blemish on the entire thing.

"Renner" is the story of a computer genius by the same name who's working on a state-of-the-art AI system that will become a live-in life coach for those needing help. He's using it to work through his own issues, which we quickly find are many. The first he focuses on is being assertive, and that string will weave its way through the entire film.

Renner (Frankie Muniz) lives a ritualized existence, never deviating from his schedule of tasks and the proper order in which to do them. He's happy with his life, his apartment, and the new AI he's created, which he named Salenus (voiced by Marcia Gay Harden). He's on the brink of perfection with Salenus and that fits his life… well, perfectly.

But while Renner is happy with his current life, it's a lonely one, and he has his eye on a beautiful neighbor, Jamie (Violet Beane), who recently moved in down the hall. Salenus coaches him to talk to her, but when the time comes, only a squeak comes out. Jamie saves him and asks about the two having dinner together. Perfect.

His dreams of a wonderful dinner with just the two of them when Jamie's brother Chad (Taylor Gray) arrives with her, and Renner's idea of a perfect evening turns out to be anything but that. Chad continuously antagonizes Renner before ultimately leaving, and the dynamic between brother and sister is clearly strained.

After the rough start, the two hit it off and start spending more and more time together. Through their dates, we learn that Jamie's working whatever jobs she can to help her mom, who owes money to the wrong people, that Chad has demons of his own, and they don't get along, and that she knew who Renner was before they even met face-to-face.

The most potent moment that has defined Renner's life is the story of his mom chasing away a friend after seeing a Monopoly board and pieces lying on his floor when he was a child. She made the young Renner put it all back together and then inspected it piece by piece. She would throw the game against the wall when something wasn't perfect and have him do it all over again.

As Renner recounts the story, he becomes more and more manic until Jamie has to put her hand on him to snap him out of the memory loop and bring him back to the present. Cementing his comfort with Jamie is that two nights prior, they played chess, which was the first time he'd played a board game since that incident.

But as their relationship blossoms into a more physical one, Salenus becomes more skeptical. At one point, the duo is lying in bed when Renner introduces Jamie to Salenus and asks her to pose a no-win scenario to the AI. She does, and the audience knows the question is targeted toward Renner, and Salenus is not too happy about it.

The AI accuses her of being disingenuous, having a low IQ, and not helping Renner reach his potential or goals. We know that Salenus is closer to the truth than Renner knows. We've already seen someone dressed in black leather enter his apartment when he's at work, and the relationship between Jamie and Chad is a little too odd to ignore.

We're slipping into spoiler territory, so consider yourself warned.

Although his relationship with Jamie is something he's always wanted, it's pushed him so far out of his comfort zone that one day, he gets into a loop and can't leave his apartment. He's frustrated and ultimately wills himself to leave, but as he approaches his door, there comes a knock. Clutching the briefcase housing Salenus, he looks through the peephole to see Jamie and Chad. They stand there, and then Chad says, "Just use the key."

Retreating to the bathroom, Renner discovers that Jamie and Chad are lovers on a mission to steal his AI. When Jamie finds that Salenus isn't there, she takes Renner's journal with all his passwords and suggests they hack into the system from their apartment and steal her.

This sets up a third act that is absolutely bonkers and is the energy we have for most of the film.

Wondering what his next move should be, Salenus informs Renner that they have hacked into the system and are downloading his work and he must be assertive and stop them. Renner goes into their apartment, and all hell breaks loose. They swear they've not downloaded anything, but Salenus said it's on a jump drive and he must find it. He ties both people up and begins torturing Chad with instructions from Salenus. Each method is bloodier and more sinister, and Jamie must sit and watch in horror.

As the events escalate, Chad is taken out of the equation, leaving only Renner and Jamie in the apartment. Renner is temporarily jolted out of his madness, and as they talk, Jamie confesses their plan — to steal Salenus and use the money to help her mom. Renner reveals that his mom died last year. Jamie tells him that she, in fact, does have feelings for him; Salenus speaks up to cast doubt once again, slipping Renner back into madness.

With Salenus as the devil on his shoulder, Renner closes in on Jamie with pliers and once again screams to know where the jump drive is. Then Salenus says to kill her and that "together we can make a better us." Stopping mid-motion, Renner demands that the AI repeat herself, which she does. He realizes that in his grief, he has unwittingly programmed his mother's essence into Salenus. We also learn that the duo never downloaded anything from Renner.

Then comes the most unsatisfying ending, which frustrated the hell out of me. I've already spoiled enough, so I won't do more, but trust me when I say it's so anticlimactic that it pulls the rug out from under what could have been a solid sci-fi thriller.

The film wastes a dynamic performance from Muniz, which is a shame. I'll be honest; I've followed Muniz more for his racing career than his acting since his "Malcolm in the Middle" days, so it caught me off guard how much I liked his performance. His ability to go from meticulousness to madness and tiptoe everywhere in between was fun to watch.

Like its protagonist, “Renner” meticulously builds toward something great, only to glitch at the finish line, leaving behind a film that’s as frustrating as it is fascinating.