Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent sci-fi thriller ultimately falls flat.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Tau
What's the Story?
TAU is the very latest in artificial intelligence created by the mad genius Alex (Ed Skrein). Julia (Maika Monroe) is one of society's outcasts, making a hard-scrabble living as a pickpocket. Alex kidnaps Julia and others to extract algorithms from their brain patterns, which can then be used to improve Tau's (voiced by Gary Oldman) functioning and intelligence. Julia's daring escape attempt fails, but she and Alex reach a truce of sorts where at least she no longer has to be kept tied up. As she interacts with Tau, she starts to bond with it and is able to use its curiosity about the world and its love of music to her advantage. Can Julia escape Alex's clutches, and if she can, what will become of Tau?
Is It Any Good?
Despite strong visuals and a well-maintained sense of tension and dread throughout the story, this science fiction thriller ultimately falls flat. Maybe it's because Tau tries to be a blend of too much at a time. The horror, kidnap escape, and sci-fi aspects come and go at random. But the biggest problem is that it's exploring an already well-worn path of speculative science fiction, asking standard questions about robots and AI that have been around since before HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. And it doesn't pose the questions in an interesting, new way or offer any kind of fresh perspective on possible answers.
It's visually interesting, as you'd expect from a director with storyboarding credits as impressive as D'Alessandro's. Lots of scenes have a comic book, graphic novel style about them. And Gary Oldman adds an oddly sweet sort of sadness to Tau's voice, especially when he's talking to Julia. The occasionally gory violence, horror elements, tension, and terrorizing robots mean it's best for older teens and up.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in Tau. How much is too much? Is it different in movies or TV than in books? Why or why not?
What are Julia's character strengths? Is she a good role model? Why or why not?
If you could have AI installed in your house, would you? Why or why not? How does the depiction of Tau compare to how AI is shown in other movies you've seen, or books you've read?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 29, 2018
- Cast : Maika Monroe , Ed Skrein , Gary Oldman
- Director : Federico D'Alessandro
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Robots , STEM
- Run time : 97 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : Some violence and language.
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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