ABE (2013)

Wow! Such a good movie.

One of my all time favorites.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Abe...The psychotic robot...searching for someone to love him. Ha ha ha that is just so awesome! God... I wish that Rob McLellan will turn this into an actual Hollywood blockbuster or something because GOD KNOWS!!! it has the potential to be so. God... This short film is about to BURST of potential. This must be continued! Damn good short film. Really entertaining, deep and profound message. There's this profound need and desire for love and if not gotten then Abe here will go to incredible lengths to try anyway... Really symbolic, incredible psychological, disturbing and even though Abe is a bit of a fruitcake we can't help but to love him and feel for him for being so lonely in the world.Highly recommendable guys. This is good stuff. Once again, I hope to god McLellan will turn this into a longer film!

Undoubtedly, many will come to this short after having read that the visual effects artist/director has managed to secure a feature of the same name and idea. On that, kudos to the filmmaker. While the visual effects specifically that of our anti-hero, a robot, ABE, are great to watch - the short itself is lacking a story. I guess one could say this is a futuristic slice of life sketch and not a story; a 'character study' of a robot without a story. The edit helps the rather bland camera work and of course the post also went a long way to help create the sinister look. However, this story is hardly original and moreover fails in being compelling. One can foresee the character of Abe is what the studios bought into and will develop a 90-120 minute film around with many more characters for him to be unleashed on. Thumbs up to the visual artistry but am not convinced any filmmaker deserves to be the next big thing if they are incapable of story-telling.

British director Rob McLellan is probably one of the most prolific workers in his branch these days. "Abe" is already the 8th short-film he shot in the last 4 years and probably his most known work to this day. I wonder if we will soon see a feature film from him, possibly starring Abe or having him in a cameo. I'm not too sure I'd go see it, however, as this eight-and-a-half-minute short film didn't particularly impress me.We see a woman waking up gagged and tied to a chair. Moments later, her kidnapper enters the scene. It's Abe, the robot. From this moment on, until nearly towards the end he holds a monologue about inner motivations, love and rejection. I guess the point of this film is to show us how all these experiences could also happen to human beings, but I really wasn't convinced. At one point, when he asks his victim: "Do I have a soul?" and the camera switches to the victim, it was almost unintentionally hilarious like she must have asked herself "WTF is going on here? This can't be real." Anyway, I didn't feel any sympathy for the robot and this is probably one of the keys why I couldn't really enjoy this one that much. The execution was okay, but the story simply wasn't compelling enough. So for now, I'd say give this one a pass.

This is a very beautiful looking short film. I adore the way Abe draws me in with his innocent and welcoming exterior whilst offering such a misunderstood and tortured interior.For A, a short film, and B, a robot, this protagonist really does provide a good depth within such a short space of time. I would genuinely like to see more of him since there clearly is a past leading up to the situation we witness here.The character of Abe does well in offering a thought-provoking premise. It contains an honest and upsetting realization concerning human existence.I consider it difficult for a film to get an audience to side with murderous and unforgiving characters, but with Abe, I see reason, I see a tested tolerance, and most importantly, I see a story.