Renner (February 2025 Film)

Renner (February 2025 Film) Cost & Crew

Marcia Gay Harden as Salenus(voice)
Violett Beane as Jamie
Frankie Muniz as Renner
Craig Lamar Traylor as Neighbor
Taylor Gray as Chad
Estes Tarver as Henchman

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Renner (February 2025 Film) Premise

Taylor Grey, Marcia Gay Harden, Violett Beane, and Frankie Muniz all feature in the 2025 American science fiction thriller Renner. It was written by Luke Medina and Martin Medina and directed by Robert Rippberger. It debuted in select theatres on February 7, 2025. Renner (February 2025 Film), a computer wiz, uses Salenus, an AI life coach he developed, to try to win over his neighbor Jamie. He quickly learns, though, that he unintentionally coded the AI with his manipulative mother’s mentality.

Renner (February 2025 Film) Summary

For better or worse, films on artificial intelligence are becoming as familiar as the technology itself in our daily lives. But while mechanical threats like M3GAN and Ultron from the MCU arrived, tearing off children’s ears and threatening to take over the world, 2025’s Renner introduces a new danger in the shape of Salenus, an AI life coach who is… just a little rude? The film, which was directed by Robert Rippberger and starred Frankie Muniz, answers the universal issue of what would happen if your mother’s annoying attitude was coupled with AI’s unforgiving, cold nature. Renner takes the well-worn evil AI theme and treads it again. The solution? Nothing positive, and nothing unexpected.
The title character in Renner, played by Frankie Muniz, is a nervous and withdrawn AI engineer who spends his days meticulously cleaning his flat and using adjectives like “perspicacious.” Renner works on Salenus, his AI life coach, who he utilizes to boost his confidence when he’s not cleaning his chess set or grooming himself with a disturbing zeal (routines we watch him execute many, many times). Salenus is voiced by Marcia Gay Harden. Renner has the confidence to approach his attractive neighbor Jamie (Violett Beane) with Salenus’s assistance. Their developing romance reveals a new side of both Renner and the AI, who starts to exhibit unsettling resemblances to Renner’s controlling mother. Renner’s world is turned upside down when an unexpected adversary attempts to use Salenus’s technology for his benefit.

The careless use of AI has enormous cinematic potential, as demonstrated by films like Ex Machina and Black Mirror. These tales successfully arouse our anxieties about developing technology by hinting at the potential outcomes of technological advancements that are beyond our comprehension or control. Regretfully, Renner fails to successfully utilize its AI components and contributes nothing to the discussion of artificial intelligence.
The core of the narrative is around Renner’s somewhat Oedipal relationship with Salenus, yet this dynamic would be more alluring if the robot could do more than a reprimand. Salenus falls short of the increasing number of AI adversaries. The AI doesn’t appear to have any more technology than the typical Google Home, despite being portrayed as a dangerous threat. Her negative demeanor is insufficient to make her appear like a real threat, much less one worth stealing, and Salenus only lectures Frankie Muniz about sexually transmitted diseases and makes fun of him for his lack of cleanliness. Even while she does have a manipulating mind of her own, the possibility of her technology being hacked by others seems like a very low-stakes situation since Salenus’s power is only derived from Renner’s complex connection with her. However, there are some amusing (although maybe inadvertent) moments due to Salenus’s eyeball-like appearance and blank look, which do express a strange feeling of judgment.

Renner’s set design significantly enhances the spooky, future atmosphere that the AI aspect is unable to convey when the storyline lacks excitement. The whole movie is set at Renner’s apartment complex, except for the opening titles. Although Salenus isn’t especially terrifying, there is an effective sense of discomfort because of the setting’s dull, black fluorescent lighting, which creates a claustrophobic environment. The fact that we only see Renner, Jamie, and her flatmate Chad (Taylor Grey) as tenants adds to the eerie atmosphere of this place. The small ensemble contributes to the film’s enigmatic benefit, regardless of whether this was an artistic decision or a financial one.
Despite stepping back from prominent parts in recent years, Frankie Muniz, who is no stranger to the film industry, demonstrates in Renner that he is still a captivating presence on screen. There is no question about Renner’s modest fixation with cleanliness and order from the outset of the film. Muniz gives the part his all as he faithfully and increasingly frantically performs Renner’s obsessive habits. Muniz creates a complex character and displays a broad range as Renner starts to fall apart. However, Muniz’s dedication to the role can only be so strong when the majority of his most dramatic moments are focused on Salenus’s empty look or his reflection. Despite Muniz’s best attempts, Renner’s spiral ultimately gets boring because screenwriters Luke and Martin Medina use awkward monologues and shouting mantras that his mother (and now Salenus) instilled in him to explain all of his past.

As Renner’s neighbors Jamie and Chad, Violett Beane and Taylor Grey also give excellent performances, providing Muniz with deserving scene partners to play off of when he’s not dealing with personal issues. While Grey successfully leans into his “dick” persona until both characters are pushed to their breaking points in the film’s very unsettling final act, Beane gives Jamie the essential coyness as she develops into a compelling love interest for Renner. As the voice of Salenus, Marcia Gay Harden completes the ensemble and does a good job, although the renowned actress can only do so much in such a one-note part.
Renner is a forgettable and boring film, with badly done battle sequences and a very lackluster post-credits scene. The tiny ensemble cast’s unexpectedly strong performances are the only things that make the film memorable. Renner does nothing more than showcase Muniz’s persistent star power and make you reconsider using Siri for love counsel, but it’s unclear if the film was attempting to comment on artificial intelligence or merely exploit it as a clumsy story device.

Renner (February 2025 Film) Production

Robert Rippberger was rumored to be the film’s director and producer in May 2023. [1] Taylor Grey, Violett Beane, and Frankie Muniz all signed on to star in the same month. [2] Salenus, the AI, is voiced by Marcia Gay Harden.
In early June 2023, principal photography got underway at Ascent Studios in Spring Hope, North Carolina.

Renner (February 2025 Film) Watch Online

Renner (February 2025 Film) Watch Online

Renner (February 2025 Film) Reviews

At just ninety minutes, Renner isn’t a long movie, but it provides the tension enough time to examine how deceitful both people and machines can be. It’s a terrific movie with good performances, but the last scene takes a direction I didn’t anticipate. A science-fiction romance disguised as a suspenseful game of paranoia. In any case, the numerous twists and fake-outs are completely inconsistent with the individuals’ personalities. It concludes on an inactive note, suggesting that caring for the destiny of anything is difficult, if not impossible. It inspires little more than a shrug.
The low-financed execution would detract from the film’s progression from character study to would-be thriller to torture porn, even if the screenplay were sharper. Although director and co-writer Rippberger deserves praise for what he manages to do within the constraints of the production, “Renner” is more akin to “Hostel” than “Ex Machina.” It is disheartening that the producers chose cheesy thrills and torturous brutality above the surprisingly sincere and grounded humanity because they lacked confidence in themselves and their characters. A true oddity, RENNER captivates you with its fresh perspective on AI and then provides enough story twists for several stories. If you believe you have the answer… You won’t be able to discern its direction yet.
We simply wait for the other shoe to drop since there isn’t much else established, developed, or to consider beyond the plot’s constrained limits. The movie seems fantastic, too. Despite not being placed in a dismal future, Renner’s appearance appears antiseptic and futuristic, which is typical of those films. Although there are many positive aspects of this, it is clear that there isn’t a powerful rogue AI. Although ‘Renner’… isn’t very innovative, it surprised me with a few intriguing turns. The futuristic, impersonal production design, with its harsh angles and harder shadows, also intrigued me. An underdeveloped, unevenly toned, and uninteresting blend of drama, science fiction, and thrills.
Despite the poor writing, Rippberger manages to provide some thrills. It may have been ok if a better actor had been used in place of the miscast Muniz. He finds it hard to accept the program because of this weak criticism of AI. Renner is a forgettable and boring film, with badly done battle sequences and a very lackluster post-credits scene. The tiny ensemble cast’s unexpectedly strong performances are the only things that make the film memorable. Rippberger, who is supervising a dull analysis of an unraveling that is well beyond Muniz’s reach, is not in a rush to move the image further.

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