I find stories about heroes fighting to prevent the apocalypse to be much more compelling than their dystopian post-apocalyptic counterparts. There are exceptions, of course. 28 Days Later is one fine film. Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend is a darn good read, as is Stephen King’s The Stand. I even still like The Walking Dead. For the most part, though, whether the the threat to mankind be Zombies or Aliens or the Plague or Nuclear War, chances are I’ve seen the story before.

Singularity is no different. This time around the threat is Artificial Intelligence. In 2020, a computer by the name of Kronos is built to solve all the world’s problems. It immediately decides that humans are the world’s biggest problem, and within minutes the population is decreased by 8 billion. That’s a fun idea. Unfortunately, it’s the only good one this movie has.

100 years later we meet our heroes. Calia (Jeannine Wacker) is a young, crossbow-wielding woman traversing a world patrolled by drones and gigantic robots. Andrew (Julian Schaffner) is a robot who believes himself to be human. They meet as they attempt to reach a safe zone. Yes, it’s a post-apocalyptic road movie to a safe zone. Singularity covers all the tropes. Do we also learn that humans are the real monsters? Of course, we do. Do you think Calia will be able to let go of her prejudices and learn to trust her mechanical companion? Don’t bet against it. And I understand that a crossbow is the weapon of choice for dystopian heroes, but what good are those bolts going to do against robots that are five stories high?

That lack of logic runs rampant throughout the movie. If Kronos wants to help Earth, why did it leave any buildings standing for 100 years? Where is all the wildlife? Why aren’t those train tracks rusting and overgrown with foliage? Why do Calia and Andrew insist on running out in the open when most of the story is set in the woods? And if 8 billion people died in one blow, who erected those tombstones for them?

This is the first full-length effort for writer/director Robert Kouba. There is nothing to indicate a fruitful career. There’s just nothing original – or at least interesting – happening here. His sole style of directing seems to be to pad with unnecessary montages in order to meet a respectable running time. The script is full of clichés that were already rusty in the B-grade sci-fis of the late ’50’s. He also has no idea how to handle exposition. The audience is first made to read a long series of clumsy title cards, then it gets saddled with an intrusive narrator. I hope Kouba learned that it’s much more fun to see the battle than to be told about it.

If Singularity has anything going for it, it’s the chemistry between the two young leads. Wacker stands out. She delivers the ridiculous dialogue like a true trooper. She knows what she’s saying is stupid, but she has the sincerity required. Schaffner works well in his scenes with Wacker, but he can’t carry the movie on his own without her. He can grow, though, and with any luck both of these actors will be able to pull themselves out of the direct-to-video market.

Which brings us to John Cusack. What happened to John Cusack? Here he plays Elias Van Dorne, inventor of Kronos. Cusack’s career has taken a mighty fall. He was the go-to romantic lead for any “serious” ’80’s teen rom-coms. The ’90’s had some great films like Being John Malkovich and High Fidelity, but he just wasn’t able to hold on to his identity as he tried to transition into the action hero and the adult romantic lead. The 21st century has brought little of note. That’s a shame. I’ve always found him to be charming and likable. Here he plays a role that was written and filmed two years after the main story, then edited in for a little weight and star power. That’s exactly what the role in the film feels like. He deserves better.

There’s no reason to catch Singularity. You’ve seen it before. The most bewildering thing I find about the movie is why it thought it could so blatantly open itself up for a sequel. I just can’t see that happening. I’d suggest that perhaps a prequel would be a better idea. Show us the action of a scrappy band of humans fighting against their artificially intelligent overlord. Unfortunately, James Cameron kind of beat Kouba to that idea, too.

Singularity is streaming on Netflix.