Movie review: Replicas is truly abysmal, says Rashid Irani

As it becomes cheaper to make films, we have grown to expect more mediocrity, and the occasional release that is deathly dull. But nothing could have prepared us for the truly abysmal Replicas.

The purported science-fiction thriller follows a neurobiologist (Keanu Reeves) determined to replicate (but of course) his deceased family after they perish in a car crash.

With the help of a reluctant colleague (Thomas Middleditch), the distraught husband and father steals incubation pods for this cloning experiment. His wife (Alice Eve) and two of his three kids are brought back to life with insane alacrity. What of the young daughter? Who knows!

Sidestepping the moral dilemmas involved in all these shenanigans, the film instead offers a confounding thriller twist to the narrative, complete with car chases and shootouts.

As it careens towards the end of its runtime, the script strives to pack simplistic answers into a climactic sequence that can only be described as silly.

I saw it so you wouldn’t have to. Give Replicas a miss.