Plot[]
Fifteen years have passed since a massive solar flare destroyed the ozone layer, turning the planet Earth into a largely uninhabitable wasteland ravaged by extreme weather events while being scorched by the sun’s ultraviolet rays, increasing temperatures to Template:Convert. One of the few survivors, robotics engineer Finch Weinberg, lives alone with his dog Goodyear and a helper-robot Dewey in an underground St. Louis laboratory once owned by the company he worked for before the cataclysm. Finch only ventures outside to search for supplies wearing a protective suit.
Dying of an undisclosed ailment (although Finch is seen reading a book on radiation poisoning), Finch is working on creating a more advanced humanoid robot companion to take care of his dog once he is gone. Finch feeds it volumes of encyclopedic knowledge, including a manual for training and caring for dogs. However, Goodyear initially doesn’t trust the robot (which eventually chooses the name Jeff).
Finch discovers that a massive storm is approaching St. Louis that will certainly destroy the area and kill him. Finch, Jeff, Dewey, and Goodyear set out in a heavily modified motorhome towards San Francisco. Because of the hasty departure, Jeff could download only 72% of his encyclopedic data, and his mental capacity requires training. Despite his condition worsening, Finch tries to teach Jeff some valuable lessons about life and how to protect Goodyear. Jeff’s inquisitive behavior both amuses and frustrates Finch, but the robot slowly shows more initiative.
By the time they reach Denver, Finch becomes bedridden and Jeff decides to loot an abandoned hospital with Dewey. Dewey unwittingly gets crushed by a beartrap and Finch retrieves Jeff to escape the city, realizing that the area is a trap set up by other humans. Later in the evening, the motorhome is pursued by an unknown car (which evidently followed them from the hospital). Finch makes a panicked error in judgment and crashes their vehicle through an underpass with too little clearance, but Jeff is strong enough to squeeze it out of sight. Finch begins to give up hope that he will survive the journey and tells a story (in a flashback) about how he rescued Goodyear.
Approaching their destination, the UV radiation has dropped low enough for Finch to be able to step out into the sunshine without a protective suit. Ecstatic, Finch spends an afternoon outside with Jeff, teaching him how to play fetch with Goodyear before quietly dying. After cremating Finch in a funeral pyre, Jeff and Goodyear make their way to San Francisco. Although they find the city habitable but deserted, they find possible evidence of surviving humans at the Golden Gate Bridge and set out to find them.
Production[]
On October 26, 2017, it was announced that Tom Hanks would star in BIOS, a post-apocalyptic film about a robot who is built by Hanks’ ailing character Finch to protect the life of his beloved dog when he dies. Miguel Sapochnik would direct the film, which would be produced by Robert Zemeckis and Kevin Misher, from a spec script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell. Several major studios were bidding for the rights of the film, with production expected to begin in early 2018. A few days later, it was reported that Amblin Entertainment had purchased the project, with Universal Pictures set to distribute it. In December 2017, the film was revealed to be on that year’s «Black List» of most-liked unproduced screenplays.
In January 2019, Caleb Landry Jones joined the cast in a motion capture and voice role as the robot which Finch builds. In March 2019, Samira Wiley was announced as part of the cast, followed by Skeet Ulrich and Laura Harrier in May, but were all absent in the released film.
Principal photography began in February 2019, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Filming also took place in Santa Fe, Shiprock, Los Lunas, Socorro, and the White Sands National Monument, and ended in May 2019.
Reception[]
According to Samba TV, the film was watched in 1.4 million households in its first 30 days of release. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of 168 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, «Finch may not be the most memorable post-apocalyptic story, but Tom Hanks proves perfectly charming company even after the collapse of civilization.»Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating «mixed or average reviews».
Tomris Laffly of Variety gave the film a positive review: «Despite the bleak backdrop, Finch manages to stay true to the fuzzy ring of its basic idea, delivering a family-friendly movie that is big-hearted, comfortingly traditional and bolstered by a genuine love of dogs.» David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter gave it a mixed review: «There’s little that’s unpredictable in Miguel Sapochnik’s unabashedly sentimental sci-fi road movie, which could almost have been assembled in a robotics lab from the durable parts of countless movies past. But darned if I wasn’t misting up in the melancholy climactic scenes.» Richard Schertzer of Sportskeeda commented, «Finch proves to be a decent watch but it often gets lost in other science-fiction movies, living in their shadow, rather than doing something new.»
Accolades
Template:Table to prose
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Effects Society Awards | March 8, 2022 | Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature | Harinarayan Rajeev, Matthias Schoenegger, Simon Allen, Paul Nelson (for Jeff) | Won | |
| AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | March 18, 2022 | Best Buddy Picture | Finch | Won |
References[]
<templatestyles src=»Reflist/styles.css» />
- <templatestyles src=»Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css»></templatestyles>McNary, Dave (May 4, 2018). «Film News Roundup: Tom Hanks’ Sci-Fi Movie ‘Bios’ Dated for 2020 Release». Variety. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- Grobar, Matt (August 12, 2021). ‘Finch’: Tom Hanks Movie Gets Premiere Date On Apple TV+ & First-Look Photo.
- <templatestyles src=»Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css»></templatestyles>Whittaker, Richard (November 5, 2021). «Finch». Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ↑ Finch is yet another forgettable Tom Hanks star vehicle – review (en) (November 4, 2021).
- <templatestyles src=»Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css»></templatestyles>Kroll, Justin; Lang, Brent (October 26, 2017). «Tom Hanks to Star in Sci-Fi Film ‘Bios’ From ‘Game of Thrones’ Director (EXCLUSIVE)». Variety. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- Tom Hanks Sci-Fi Project ‘Bios’ Goes to Amblin Entertainment (October 31, 2017).
- Hall, Jacob (December 11, 2017). 2017 Black List Revealed: Here are the Most Liked Unproduced Screenplays of the Year.
- Kroll, Justin (January 9, 2019). Caleb Landry Jones to Co-Star With Tom Hanks in Amblin’s ‘Bios’ (EXCLUSIVE). Variety.
- ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Star Samira Wiley Joins Tom Hanks in ‘Bios’ (Exclusive) (March 5, 2019).
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- Filming in February: Miguel Sapochnik to Direct Upcoming Feature Film ‘Bios’ in Albuquerque, NM (February 7, 2019).
- Murray, Rebecca (May 22, 2019). Skeet Ulrich and Laura Harrier Join Tom Hanks in ‘Bios’.
- Universal Sets Tom Hanks’ Sci-Fi Flick ‘Bios’ for 2020 (May 4, 2018).
- D’Alessandro, Anthony (June 12, 2020). Tom Hanks Sci-Fi Movie ‘Bios’ Moves To 2021.
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- D’Alessandro, Anthony (March 25, 2021). Universal Amblin’s Tom Hanks Sci-Fi Movie ‘Bios’ Shifts A Week Later in August.
- Fleming, Mike Jr (May 3, 2021). Apple Lands Another Tom Hanks Film; ‘Finch’, Formerly Titled ‘Bios’, To Likely Release in Awards Season (en-US).
- D’Alessandro, Anthony (January 3, 2022). With Tentpoles Bound To Surge The 2022 Box Office, The Great Theatrical-Streaming Day & Date Experiment Goes Out Like A Dud in 2021.
- Template:Cite Rotten Tomatoes
- Template:Cite Metacritic
- Laffly, Tomris (November 3, 2021). ‘Finch’ Review: Tom Hanks Pledges to Protect His Dog in Impressively Scaled Sci-Fi Charmer.
- Rooney, David (November 3, 2021). Tom Hanks in Apple TV+’s ‘Finch’: Film Review.
- Schertzer, Richard. Apple TV+ ‘Finch’ review: Bolsters strong performance from Tom Hanks, has heart but gets lost among other Sci-fi films.
- Tangcay, Jazz (January 18, 2022). ‘Dune’ and ‘Encanto’ Lead Visual Effects Society Nominations. Retrieved on January 18, 2022.
- AARP Movies for Grownups Awards: ‘Belfast’ Named Best Film; ‘King Richard’ Lone Double Winner – Full List (March 19, 2022).
