Use the weekend to watch this quirky movie

RELEASE DATE: Out now on Netflix RATING: PG GENRE: Family, Action Comedy, Sci-fi and Fantasy CAST: Constance Wu, Michael Pena, Charlyne Yi, Jason Sudeikis

If you liked Big Hero 6, you will probably enjoy Netflix original film, Next Gen. In a futuristic world where personal-assistant robots are essential in every home, teenage Mai is increasingly angry and lonely.

With a happy family life as a small child, everything changed for Mai when her father left and her mother used the robots to cope – effectively leaving Mai to fend for herself with only her dog Momo for company.

When Mai slips off on her own at a Q-bot convention, she accidentally discovers and activates a top-secret robot known only as Project 7723, and leaves her backpack behind when caught.

Project 7723 escapes the confines of the lab and tracks Mai to her home to return the backpack, and there begins a friendship of sorts.

The viewer could be forgiven for thinking this movie rather simplistic for the first 45 minutes but, as is later revealed, there is a lot more going on in the storyline.

While marketed as a kids’ film, there are some mature topics dealt with, censored cursing, and strong sci-fi/confronting scenes towards the end.

It’s a fun movie for adults, older children and teens, however, with some excellent discourse on grief, anger, loneliness, and growing up.

Then, of course, there is always the discussion to be had on the repercussions of introducing AI into the world, which is also well dealt with in the film.

Over all, Next Gen is one-and-a-half hours well spent.