(https://i.imgur.com/e2Nic9x.png)
Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: 5/19/2026
Rating: PG-13
Film Grade: B
The Story: Daniel Roher is an expectant father and filmmaker. To ease his fears about his child's future, he interviews dozens of AI experts in an examination of the good and bad of what we’re all about to face.
My Take: I first saw this documentary mentioned by one of my favorite YouTube creators, Mr. Excel (https://youtu.be/S3FOi0wgNBk?t=90) in one of his episodes about AI and Excel. I knew that if he recommended it, it would be worth seeking out.
Roher (director of 2023 Best Documentary Oscar winner Navalny) and co-director Charlie Tyrell have put together a film that skillfully balances information and human interest, creating a compelling look at our very near future. The impending birth of Roher’s child with wife, Caroline Lindy, gives the film both a sense of urgency and an emotional connection to what could have been a dry subject matter.
The film is divided into a number of sections. The first deals with the worst-case scenarios, or the “apocal” half of the made-up name in the title. These aren’t Terminator 2 style fantasies, rather they discuss what AI is actually learning from all of the mountains of information it’s consuming, and how it may use that knowledge to plan a future with or without humans.
As a feeling of dread starts weighing on the audience, the tone shifts to the multitude of potential benefits of AI, or the “optimist” half of the title’s word. For all the risks, there are also untold benefits, many of which are still to be imagined.
This is all played out over a number of interviews and file footage. Roher has gathered a broad range of people for the film, including some big names, and each of them do a good job of explaining complex issues plainly enough for the average person to understand. Each topic is handled from multiple perspectives adding balance to what could have easily been a single-sided project.
At 104 minutes, the time breezes by quickly and never overstays its welcome. I would have preferred the interviews be extended a bit longer, allowing each speaker to expand upon their thoughts, but that could be seen as dull for those less interested in the finer details.
Visuals: This is a documentary, but it keeps things interesting by including file footage of various quality including some home movie footage and some stop motion animation, along with some AI generated videos. The shots for this project are detailed and natural looking. It looks fine for this content.
Audio: Being an interview-driven documentary, the emphasis is on intelligibility, and the dialog is clear and easy to understand. There is some occasional music, but it never intrudes on the discussions. I will note that my second viewing was via Peacock, where it’s currently streaming, and there were issues with varying sound levels, which were readily apparent during the interviews. This was on a work TV and I don’t know if it was caused by the sound settings on it or in the app. There were no such issues on the Blu-ray, so I’ll chalk it up to something in the streaming playback chain.
Final Verdict: One thing that this movie stresses is that AI is not some far-distant sci-fi future. It’s coming now, for better or worse, and it’s best to be prepared for it. I watched this twice, once with my wife and again with a group of coworkers and never lost interest even the second time. We each thought it was well worth the time, all coming away with different feelings about the future, some positive and some negative.
The number of experts, and their perspectives, is thought provoking and the presentation is very well done even for those who only connect AI with cat videos and essay writing. You’ll likely find yourself agreeing with some, disagreeing with others, impressed with some of their thoughts, bewildered by the shallowness of others. But they’ll all leave you thinking.
It’s mentioned in the documentary that they thought it would be out of date by the time it hit theaters, but even months later it’s not stale, other than the various version numbers of the competing AI offerings. It also doesn’t sugar coat or cheerlead for either side. I applaud them for being so even handed, although the conclusion they reach at the end leans toward the naïve; they don’t address one of the primary concerns for pessimism that they detailed earlier.
Highly recommended for anyone looking for an intro to AI, along with the possible promises and perils of our shared future.
Fun Fact: Those of us that are nerds will be happy to see that Arthur C. Clarke (the real deal, not an AI reanimation) gets both the first and last words of the film.
https://youtu.be/xkPbV3IRe4Y
This review was written by a human without the use of AI.
My Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup