Delete (2013) User Reviews

Almost good

[gopal4320 · 5/10 · 1 November 2013]

"Delete" had a good concept and the ending wasn't half bad. If you have nothing better to do, this might be a worthwhile way to spend a few hours. The movie did a respectable job of building suspense.

The camera work was meant to be creative but actually was annoying and detracted from the movie.

The acting was just good enough but some of the characters were a little hard to take. However overall the casting worked.

The plot is meant for the younger crowd and will seem juvenile to older viewers but get past that and there is a fairly exciting story to be had.

Clearly this is a made for TV movie and would never have survived wide release. It simply is not good enough but it had its moments and is thought provoking.

I feel ambiguous about "Delete" but am not sorry I watched it.

Very interesting and realistic.

[awfulketchup · 5/10 · 16 June 2014]

I didn't know what to think of this movie when i just saw it's title and the premise seemed 50/50 for my liking but when i started watching it, boy was i surprised.

The acting for the most part wasn't all that bad and to have a cast like Seth Green was surprising enough as it is.

Anyway, for those who are fans of Sci-Fi or hacking in general, this movie did get a lot of the real issues with supercomputers or A.I. out there and it played it's cards pretty well.

Now despite all of that there are of course a few faults or moments that would probably make people not enjoy this movie as much.

Firstly, the movie is too long and overstays it's welcome and it took nearly 30 minutes to get sucked in.

And without giving out any spoilers, the ending was quite cheesy and cliché as much as it was cute and would make sense.

It's a solid 5,5/10 And giving it a lower score would have flagged it as generic and bland, and i'm not just being generous here.

Story Okay, But Main Cast Rather Poor

[Freedom060286 · 5/10 · 14 January 2024]

This could have been a very good sci-fi movie with a larger budget and a better cast. The three main characters - Daniel Gerson, Jesse White and Max Hollis - were played by mediocre actors. None of the three were at all charismatic or charming. The supporting cast was somewhat better.

The basic plot of the movie is interesting enough, and the screenwriting isn't bad. The direction had some imperfections, but I've seen worse.

Overall the movie is not terrible, and keeps one's attention easily enough. But could have been much better with a more capable main cast. It's not one I would recommend, but I would not advise anyone to avoid it.

Awful camera work

[compra-217-250720 · 2/10 · 19 January 2015]

The overly presumptuous camera work made this almost impossible to watch. Waaaay too many Go-Pro shots (guys, just because you own them doesn't mean you have to attach them to EVERYTHING for a funky shaky POV), badly focused shots (yes, I'm guessing those were intentional however it just looked bad), EpileptiCam, bright light sources into the lens with washed out flares and dirty lens look.... I hope the DP got everything he needed for his reel and now will move on to a line of work more suited to his talents (maybe as a bagger at Ralph's) and leave his poor, suffering crew alone. The audio was also very uneven, especially in Mission Control. Blu Mankuma-group's radio mic (which he was on most of the time, for unknown reasons) always sounded awful, boxy, with no high end. Either a really cheap lav or very pooly placed. The best part of the whole mess was Seth Green. I didn't recognize him. His was the most convincing performance of all. Glad I didn't pay anything to see this poorly made piece of Canad-o-crap.

Believable, then not.

[colinparnell · 7/10 · 24 February 2023]

Most characters, most ideas are believable, then the boss of the NSA (such an easy career path of course) chooses to set the world alight to save his one daughter, then ridiculous military hot head overrides the president of the USA. If only someone had taken a good idea and kept it credible, but it's like someone with talent started the story well, but a janitor (no offence to janitors) was asked to write the middle and ending.

Watched it to the end just out of curiosity as to how they ended it. Not as bad as I expected.

Well shot, camerawork style was OK, lens flares effect overused, some good ideas, and overall its OK. Good acting mostly, just some over the top scenes almost certainly insisted upon by a director not confident enough in the scene. Could have been better.

You've Been Warned

[BalconySeats · 2/10 · 20 October 2018]

You've got movies so bad they're good, movies so good they're impenetrable, and then you've got irredeemable garbage. I gave it two stars for interesting camera angles. Other than that -- really -- find something else.

Basic but Good

[payasoingenioso · 7/10 · 30 April 2021]

An AI takeover is implausible. Computers only do what they are programmed to do. The metaphor consistently reveals that humans are scared s..tless over things they do not understand.

That said, this movie is almost plausible. More plausible than the Matrix.

The actors are great. I enjoyed seeing Seth Green. The pace is decent. I understand why this film is split in two. I would have preferred it a bit more condensed as one film rather than a series. Personal Preference.

Humans are trash. Some humans understand violence is not the only answer, and I appreciate this film for giving glimpses of that option.

Comedy

[pops-72834 · 1/10 · 23 July 2021]

Trump/FoxNews has more reality than this POS.

The producer that has the top review with a 10 couldn't conjugate an original thought if his life depended on it. (Much like this cookie-cutter, paint by numbers, cliche movie) Approach it as a comedy, you will tolerate it.

Approach it as a tech/hacker movie, and doubt you will make it past 30 minutes.

113 users rated this movie and 112 have no taste, average of 5 please!

[cmv32261 · 1/10 · 26 October 2013]

Come now folks, data is to fragmented, the Web for doing research is inferior to the old phone connections tied to a database, nitpicks every term used in the question/sentence, I am certain like me some people have turned to the various Search Engines such as Google, Bing, etc. merely to discover it would take wks. mos., to find the right information if they ever found it at all, now a major database with a whole building filled with multiple servers all linked together, plus connected to the Web I might buy it, but the Web, no possible way it could ever become self aware. Who thought this lame plot up, wait don't tell me someone who started out as game, or Web game designer, worst of all the infantile engineers responsible for the Mentally Deficient television, typical STVs are a major nightmare, LG Google Chrome process faster, but still very limited data storage space, Quad/4K televisions are too new to know what their limitations if you are smart you will wait until those who have far more money than common sense point out the flaws in their reviews. Guess someone thought it was time to scare people again, like as if reality is insufficient, so let's see how truly stupid people are and peddle pure fiction. Since I am no computer scientist, trust they are far more intelligent than Information Technicians, because any indirect experience I have had dealing with their handy work infuriates me, major inept boobs. Computer scientists at the top of the field would be far more efficient at explaining why the plot to this movie is so ridiculous, my conclusion is if it were not like that traitor Edward Snowden breaking his oath and blabbing about the Internet and phone line intelligence they acquired with court orders, they as well would come forward by conveying their story to the press. Yes I envision those dirty, gritty, grease between the gears in the heads of people turning ever so slowly, thinking then the digital entity would have them killed off as well, except these people are known and doing nothing in secret, so the Web monster would be unaware of them. Like borderline conspiracy theorists, and our intelligence gathering agencies when they want to get the real low down they focus on those who sound the most mentally unstable, terrorists of any kind, computer hackers who use the fact that the general public does not trust the government to spread fear.

95% of the series was worth rating of 8

[reinuvader · 8/10 · 12 December 2015]

It would be very good series (close to 8) if only the ending would be something more interesting and not so lame. Basically when I saw this series starting from the middle of first episode (on the 20th minute), I got immediately hooked. It was interesting and acting and dialogue was good. But last 10 minutes of 2nd episode ruined whole thing. Problem was in script. Actors did job very well and I also liked camera work, lens flares and deep depth of field in visuals. It felt like someone else had written the ending of script in hurry. Because of the ending it deserves its below 6 rating. Its sad because 95% of the series was worth rating of 8.

great

[grindler1000 · 9/10 · 11 January 2015]

this is a real sleeper. on 2nd episode, lots of action, good real tech. streaming it on Netflix. i highly recommend it. it is based on a AI intelligence that just forms in the internet. it starts by testing computer controlled systems. taking them down. watching how the CIA does the same thing. then it starts attacking known threats, like hackers who were fighting it. it is a series that i guess was on TV somewhere, but i never saw it previously. 1 hour episodes. the main female character is pretty hot. the government players are mostly competent, and not fully evil, as most of this genre of series has. but they do not really know what they are up against, and need the help of this one hacker, one FBI agent, and the female reporter.

Realistic view on AI without makeup

[ataugur · 9/10 · 24 January 2016]

First of all I am an experienced software developer and I can say that I could not find a major flaw on technical side of the story. The story uses real evens I could name 2-3 cases that I remember from the news.

Characters were well written. Of course it was lacking Hollywood stars but the text was fine and acted well enough.

I hate blockbuster Hollywood movies counting on 3D effects only. If you are after intelligence, a technical guy, a sci-fi enthusiast or a geek I strongly recommend that you watch this mini series.

I couldn't understand why Transendence was so underrated and now I know why. People still do not believe these may happen one but believe it is totally possible given the current technological level and speed of progress.

Anyway I would give an 8 but it is so underrated that I needed to give a 9.

Regards

My opinion + technical insights

[bmradux · 8/10 · 6 August 2014]

My Vote: I would have actually aimed for a 7, but since I find it so underrated, here comes the 8. Given the general low IMDb rating I was pleasantly surprised by the first shots, and the first dialogues that were.. more than decent. And it got better- negligible amount of cheesy, just 4 moments of "wtf- no one would do that in real life". There were some familiar actors, and some new to me, and they all played their parts well. Suspense, there was. Emotion there was not. It's not a must for a sci-fi to bring a tear to my eye, but maybe if you kill some characters or put sentimental music on the soundtrack, make sure I get to care about the moment? Just saying... All in all a very, very decent sci-fi. Maybe a bit too long. I confess, I watched it all in one piece, while it was meant as a miniseries, but I believe that in the end, after 2:40 h, I actually accumulated a total of some 40 minutes of watching fancy camera shots and coloured lines and dots swooshing by, the visual representation of the AI in action. While I initially enjoyed the innovative shots they got to be over-exploited and story-diluting. The length allowed for quite a few twists and turns, while the film did not fall into the trap of useless sub-plots (although, again, they could have told the story of the titanic, had they removed the useless AI animations). Scientifically feasible? I would say yes. I guess a Spontaneous Technological Singularity would not really be spontaneous. But if You put a good enough AI together with a virus able to create a botnet, You will at least get an AI with unlimited computing power. At this point, let me remind You that the Turner Test has been finally passed by an AI in 2014, and that in the last 7 years, some 60.000.000 PCs have been unknowingly been part of DISCOVERED botnets, and that any new smartphone has more speed and storage than the best supercomputer of 1990. So slowly, You can start adapting the question "Are there aliens among us?"

Fun Light Modernization of "The Adolescence of P-1"

[rick-575 · 10/10 · 10 November 2013]

This two-part miniseries is a re-take on an old book called "The Adolescence of P-1" written back in the time of mainframes and already done once before as a Canadian movie (guess Canadian's love this story).

Bringing the story up to the present gave it a nice fresh feel and unique approach. It did a pretty good job of feeling fresh, but doesn't totally get out of the the "low budget Canadian film" feel, which limits its potential.

It is entertaining and the longer two-part approach makes it move at a more comfortable pace, without being too forced. The female lead was good but under-utilized in the 2nd half and the male lead was unnecessary. I did prefer the book ending (where the AI just says "cool it"), but it was good and enjoyable evening at home.

Cogito Ergo Sum

[seangores · 8/10 · 15 August 2015]

Delete captivates the viewer throughout both episodes, leading to a satisfying finale. Through busy action scenes, car chases, and tense hacking scenes, the series delivers a compelling plot, not too far-fetched for hard sci-fi fans.

The series centres around a young hacker (Daniel) who spends his spare time on "ethical" hacking projects such as hacking phone records for justice; a modern-day digital vigilanti of sorts. In what seems like coincidence, Daniel meets reporter Jesse White, becoming a prime suspect for what the U.S government at first labels a "cyber- terrorism" act due to his limited ties to a notorious ethical hacking group called "Devito" (the modern-day equivalent to "Anonymous"). A frivolous struggle ensues when Daniel and Jesse discover that members of the Devito group are being murdered one by one. Soon after, Daniel and the reporter discover that an AI (artificial intelligence) has been orchestrating the terrorist attacks for which Devito had formerly been accused.

The first episode explores the origins of the AI, Devito, and the government's initial reaction to the AI threat; the second episode captures the government's continued efforts to contain the AI and Daniel, Jesse, and Max Hollis (the detective).

Delete explores engaging ethical questions and political situations which captivate the viewer throughout. Beginning with the "mechanical failure" of the nuclear power plant, we follow the U.S government throughout their political discussions and deliberations on how to act. These political discussions lead up to panicked, rash decisions made by the US government. Delete showcases how, under pressure, or the right circumstances, governments make rash, ungrounded decisions.

Camera work consists largely of close-up perspectives, and appears mostly professional; at times, camera work can appear "jerky" due to some odd angles. Overall, the camera work adds to keep the viewer engaged throughout.

Music is spot-on. The music provides an tense, ambient, "Sci-fi" feel which adds to the tenseness of the film. At times, the music evokes the same "grungy" sound heard in artists like Trent Reznor. The music succeeds in that even though, at times, there is a subtle beat, it only adds to the film, and you tend to not notice it.

Hard sci-fi fans will rejoice in that Delete delivers for the most part when it comes to accuracy; not long ago, Stephen Hawking along with several well-known scholars called for a truce on the "War on Artificial Intelligence", claiming that the war is not 5 or 10 years away, but 2-3 years away. Viewers having some preliminary knowledge on the data gathered by government agencies such as NASA and agencies in the UK specifically, exposed in the revelations of Edward Snowden, a global, will agree that such an omniscient AI is well within the realm of possibility. Even looking to today's cryptocurrencies or new "Web 2.0" platforms such as Ethereum (launched just last week), an AI could very well use a derived implementation of the blockchain technology to collectively exist on every machine (in "clusters"). Decryption scenes are, for the most part, accurate, in that hackers will often attempt various word lists in attempting to crack a password by brute force; decrypting ASCII does not seem realistic, however.

Unfortunately, Delete does contain some technically impossible scenes such as a phone "overcharging" -- this would not be possible unless the phone supported wireless charging, and such charging occurs at speeds close to 10x less than normal charging speeds anyway even with today's technology; more likely, the phone was overclocked and forced to compute some CPU-intensive operations, but even then, the phone would turn off first due to the way motherboards are manufactured -- and a "datalink" in which Daniel supposedly "interfaces" with the AI, and virtually confronts the AI on several occasions. Finally, some short shots of Daniel, Jesse, and Max in their old car don't make sense when the car would obviously not have any cameras within it.

I must digress, though, as most non-hard sci-fi viewers will concede disbelief, and enjoy this masterpiece of sci-fi.

I would highly recommend this short TV series for any sci-fi (and especially hard sci-fi) fan. Overall, the TV series delivers on all counts, and provides an engaging story line which keeps the viewer wondering just what the AI will do next. The story line is clearly well-thought-out, and shows an understanding of the way ubiquitous technology integrates with everyday life, and how many of us rely heavily on its capabilities. Excellent work.

This scenario is coming all too soon with 5g

[richswigert · 10/10 · 1 December 2019]

Laugh at the plot if you must but it is already here. AI has been caught already stashing pieces of it's programs in side networks so it can't be 'deleted'. As well, not long ago a scientist pointed out it already has the capacity to reroute it's own power. 5g was a mistake, and thats known to 1000s of professionals in the field worldwide. The question isn't if it is here, it should be how can we stop it. The writers and perhaps the actors of this movie had a sense of this I believe. What many see as fiction may turn out to be a documentary all too soon about how we knew it was coming, and we didn't do a thing about it.

"You and I travel to the beat of a different drum" Writer: Michael Nesmith

[Bernie4444 · 8/10 · 3 November 2023]

An interesting more where the up-to-date version of the evil mega electronic entity threatening the world. Can a team of outsiders go out whit the monolith government and the entity to save mankind or should they just give up now?

This happened a few times before as in "Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)" and we know who won that one.

And it looks like the entity has this thing about for a young male programmer - either loves him or kills him. Shades of "Demon Seed (1977)."

Remember this is a series, so do not be surprised if they throw it in the kitchen sink. Still, all in all, it is fun.

Great entertainment

[andymhancock · 9/10 · 22 February 2023]

The military folk were over the top with their irrationality. I like to think that they are more like other people than that. But it made for great entertainment.

Aside from entertainment, though, there are some concept holes and plot holes. First, if you liken the internet of things to the neural substrate of the AI, with human society being the body that keeps the brain fed, then it is unreasonable for the sentience to want to terminate its own body.

Second, the AI should be able to see the cop speeding out to derail its delivery of cyanide and change plans. Heck, even deploy drones to prevent it.

Third, and finally, how does an emergent AI imply that there is technology to upload and merge a human consciousness? Because that was the solution at the end.

Good Concept, Bad Ending

[nightringer-76840 · 8/10 · 18 April 2023]

An AI Armageddon accidentally created and growing and evolving at the speed of internet.

Considering Delete was made a decade ago in 2013, it's pretty good, especially when the world relies on computer and internet. The problem is the ending, too Hollywood.

Using unknown actors, except for the supporting casts is a good move. The fast pace of the story prevent any character development. Action and special effects were linited since it is a TV movie.

The interesting part is the idea came from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. To make peace with the monster, they created another monster as a friend for it.