Critix

A Robot on the Road is visually beautiful. The animation, artwork, and overall style are easily the strongest parts, and you can really appreciate the amount of care put into every frame. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the story—it never really grabbed me emotionally, and by the end it felt more like a visual showcase than a memorable narrative. It is also a shame that it’s only around 10 minutes long, because it feels like an idea that could’ve been explored much more. But it is great to look at.

Smile 2 ended up being a lot better than I expected. Instead of feeling like a copy of the first movie, it feels more confident in its style and leans much harder into the psychological side of the horror. The constant uncertainty over what is real and what is not is what kept me invested more than the jump scares themselves. The biggest reason it works is Naomi Scott. She absolutely carries the movie. Her performance is easily the strongest part of it, and she completely commits to every stage of Skye's mental decline. The fear, paranoia, panic, and exhaustion all feel incredibly believable, and she never comes across as overacting. Even when the story starts to lose itself, I was still invested because of how convincing she was. It is one of those performances that elevates the material around it. The cinematography and sound design also deserve a lot of credit. There are scenes where almost nothing is happening, yet the framing, music, and silence create this constant feeling of unease. The movie does a good job of making you question what is real alongside the main character, which makes the psychological horror much more effective than the jump scares. I do think it starts to lose some momentum in the third act. It becomes more focused on spectacle than psychological tension, and some of the scares begin to rely on the same tricks, making them a little less effective. I also wish it trusted the quieter moments more instead of constantly trying to outdo itself. Still, I had a really good time with it. It is stylish, tense, and much stronger than I expected, with Naomi Scott delivering a performance that is easily the highlight of the entire movie.