When is the end of the world not so bad?  When Tom Hanks is there to walk us through the desolation, entertain us with his robots and point to a possible future.  The end of the world occurs in Finch, and it’s almost cuddly for a time.  Only in the movies.

Miguel Sapochnik’s tale involves massive solar flares basically baking most of the Earth’s population to a crisp, leaving outdoor temperatures in the 150 degree range during the day and causing extreme weather anomalies.  Scientist Finch (Tom Hanks) is forced by a storm to flee St. Louis and head west in his armored, solar-powered RV with his faithful dog, a small scout robot named Dewey and his newest companion, a large humanoid robot who chooses Jeff as his name.  They reach Denver, where trouble awaits, and then continue on toward Sam Francisco, where the hope is that other people — nice people, not marauders — can be found.

Like the bulk of Cast Away, this movie is a one-man show.  Director Sapochnik acknowledges that other people exist, he just doesn’t show them.  Instead of Wilson, this tale offers its protagonist a living companion, the dog known as Goodyear (Seamus).  Dewey is a pet-like robot, but Jeff is new, is able to talk, and spends the movie learning from his new friends.  At first Jeff is rather annoying, a childish presence, but as he matures he actually becomes a valuable character and friend to Finch.  That was a nice surprise; the film is rather cloying to begin with but gets better as it goes along.

As science-fiction goes, this is rather tame and predictable stuff.  It isn’t always consistent or believable, but it has things to say about loneliness and technological friendship, much as Silent Running did some fifty years ago.  There are some amusing bits, and the story gains gravitas as it progresses (and as Finch continues to suffer from radiation sickness).  For fans of the genre, Finch is worthwhile; for others, maybe not so much.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  25 November 2023.