‘Artificial’ First Reactions: Critics Call Luca Guadagnino’s OpenAI Drama Both Hilarious and Terrifying

This stretch of the 2026 film calendar is all about Big Tech. Aaron Sorkin’s pseudo-sequel ‘The Social Reckoning’ opens this weekend, and cinephiles with a bone to pick with Silicon Valley have more than one option on the menu.

The other option has had a stranger road to the screen. Luca Guadagnino’s OpenAI movie ‘Artificial‘ was originally set to be released worldwide by Amazon MGM Studios, which dropped it several months after parent company Amazon closed a $50 billion investment in OpenAI.

Now the film has finally met an audience. ‘Artificial’ had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on Monday night, and the first reactions suggest it was worth the wait.

The early response has been enthusiastic, with members of the film press calling the movie provocative, a visceral corporate drama and Guadagnino’s best film in a decade. Next Best Picture editor-in-chief Matt Neglia wrote that it is “as entertaining as it is terrifying.”

ARTIFICIAL is Luca Guadagnino’s telling of the origins of the AI boom and where it may one day lead us. As entertaining as it is terrifying, it’s a brilliantly written human story about power, control, ambition, and greed that might be the most urgently relevant film of our time. Andrew Garfield delivers one of his most unsettling and transformative performances as Sam Altman, equally capturing his disarming charm and unnerving malice. Yura Borisov is magnificent as the brilliant mind behind OpenAI, wrestling with the moral implications of the creation he has helped unleash upon the world with intelligence and empathy. Damon Albarn’s electronic, atmospheric score perfectly sets the mood for this tech-driven narrative, while Guadagnino’s cinematic flourishes are bountiful, resulting in what may be his funniest and scariest film to date. Provocative, engaging, and downright horrifying, it’s the movie of the moment that we may not even be able to look back on if the vision of the future it presents comes true.

— Matt Neglia @NYFF (@NextBestPicture) October 6, 2026

Variety’s Clayton Davis went further, calling it “Guadagnino’s best film in a decade.” IndieWire’s Eric Kohn described a “pitch-perfect dark comedy,” and critic Jairo Jiménez praised “a powerful farce in which Andrew Garfield completely shines.”

The comparisons to other recent tech dramas were quick. One critic wrote that Guadagnino “just ate Sorkin’s lunch,” while another insisted the film is a horror comedy. Deadline’s review called Garfield chilling in an origin story that “should make you very afraid.”

ARTIFICIAL. Guadagnino guts Silicon Valley with his obsessive pulse & a powerful farce in which Andrew Garfield completely shines. A feverish, visceral corporate drama that proves what is truly artificial was never in the machines, but in the boardroom. An essential film. #NYFF64 https://t.co/030RZzuERt

— Jairo Jiménez @NYFF (@jairojimenez_) October 6, 2026

Most of the praise is aimed at Andrew Garfield, who plays OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Neglia said Garfield captures Altman’s disarming charm and unnerving malice, while Kohn said he walks a fine line between movie monster, buffoonish mogul and evil genius.

Garfield himself said at the premiere, according to Variety, “I remember seeing Sam testifying to Congress for the first time.” He added that he spent 2 to 3 months watching footage of Altman and felt a moral responsibility to take part in a movie like this.

Altman, meanwhile, has never met Garfield, but he did wave at him once. He has said the production filmed outside his house, according to Variety.

ARTIFICIAL is a pitch-perfect dark comedy about the absence of responsibility in the face of apocalyptic certainty. Andrew Garfield walks a fine line between movie monster, buffoonish mogul, and evil genius. A fun/scary ride that embodies the paradox at its center. #NYFF

— erickohn (@erickohn) October 6, 2026

The film is directed by Guadagnino from a screenplay by Simon Rich, who also produces alongside David Heyman, Jeffrey Clifford and Jennifer Fox. It follows Altman’s firing and rehiring at OpenAI in late 2023, a saga that saw him forced out and then reinstated 5 days later.

ARTIFICIAL feels like the proper sequel to THE SOCIAL NETWORK. It’s a human story about the blinding nature of desire. Andrew nailed Sam Altman’s charismatic yet manipulative demeanor. Ike as Elon will be beloved. Yura Borisov is the heart ‘n soul of the whole film. FEEL THE AGI https://t.co/CKKjc43A4X

— Antonio Ferme (@antonio_ferme) October 6, 2026

Yura Borisov, who broke out in ‘Anora,’ plays Ilya Sutskever, the chief scientist who fires Altman, and early reactions have singled him out. Neglia called him magnificent as a mind wrestling with the moral implications of what he helped create.

‘Artificial’ is an intense delivery of Guadagnino’s talents that I truly enjoyed. Haunting yet alarming would be the best way to tease this film. Garfield unfolds into a terrifying role that left me floored. I’ve been anticipating Borisov in this film and he excels. There’s a curtain that unveils with this tale that makes it one of my favourites at #NYFF64 +Albran’s score is phenomenal #Artifical #AndrewGarfield #YuraBorisov #MonicaBarbaro #IkeBarinholtz #LucaGuadagnino #NYFF #DamonAlbran

— Nicole’s Film Perspectives (@GoldenWinter_28) October 6, 2026

The ensemble also includes Monica Barbaro as Mira Murati, Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk, Mark Rylance as Geoffrey Hinton and Cooper Hoffman as Greg Brockman. Critics also praised Damon Albarn’s electronic, atmospheric score, and one writer said Barinholtz steals his scenes.

Have another screening to go to so a longer review will come later but I absolutely loved Luca Guadagnino’s #Artificial It’s an intimate character study but on a huge scale. The cast is amazing. Andrew Garfield fully becomes Sam Altman. Monica Barbaro is excellent as always. Yura Borisov is the real star here. This is the real sequel to The Social Network #NYFF64

— Greg Pomes 🎬 (@Greg_Pomes) October 6, 2026

The film’s path to theaters has been anything but smooth. After Netflix, A24 and Focus passed on the project, Neon acquired worldwide rights in late June. Amazon MGM Studios had said the film would “be better served” by a different studio.

Guadagnino has said he isn’t afraid of how Altman or others depicted in the film will respond, telling Vulture that they might even love it. He has a long history with the festival, having premiered ‘Call Me by Your Name,’ ‘Bones and All,’ ‘Queer’ and ‘After the Hunt’ there.

Luca Guadagnino’s ARTIFICIAL. It’s coming. Starring Andrew Garfield, Yura Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Ike Barinholtz, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, and Mark Rylance. In select theaters Christmas Day. https://t.co/M12NC7XU1F

— NEON (@neonrated) September 8, 2026

‘Artificial’ will screen at the BFI London Film Festival on October 11, and Neon will release it in select theaters on December 25. Based on this first wave of reactions, it looks set to be one of the most talked-about films of the fall season.

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