It's bittersweet to see an actor in a film released after his or her death.
Sometimes a star has a role or two "in the can" at the time of their passing. The great Sam Neill died in July, but he has three films slated for release in the coming months.
- "The Legend of Zelda"
- "Godzilla x Kong: Supernova"
- "The Last Resort"
Val Kilmer's "comeback" is different.
The actor died last year, but he'll be "starring" in a new drama with an unknown release date. "As Deep as the Grave" used A.I. to bring the late actor back to the screen with the full blessing of his estate. Kilmer reportedly had wanted to star in the film, but his declining health made that impossible.
This isn't a cameo or fleeting glimpse of the charismatic star. The A.I. Kilmer appears for at least an hour on screen, and the technology allows him to age over the decades, a trick that otherwise might be done with makeup or CGI.
"As Deep as the Grave" released both a full trailer this week and an extended clip featuring the A.I. Kilmer. The film features recognizable stars, including Tom Felton ("Harry Potter") and Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine"). The focus, of course, will be on the actor who never stood on set.
The "Tombstone" alum's character is Father Fintan, a Catholic priest who plays a sizable role in the story.
The technology is breathtaking, looking even better than recent CGI advancements that made Harrison Ford appear decades younger or recreate Peter Cushing, as in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."
The studio is so confident of the technology it released a much longer look at the film, one that specifically shows Kilmer in action.
Close-ups. Long, lingering shots. This isn't an attempt to camouflage the digital Kilmer. This is a "look at me" showcase. And it's easy to pick out the flaws. His hair is too perfect. His face lacks the dynamism that a great actor brings to a role.
Will this be seen as a trainwreck, something people will watch just to judge it harshly? Or will they walk away with a shrug, thinking it's good enough to see a beloved actor again?
The scary part for our inner artist? The tech in question is still in its early stages. A few years ago, this reporter punched his name into a ChatGPT-like system and asked for a biography. The results were about 60 percent accurate, 40 percent flat out wrong.
Today? The results are perfect.
The same holds true for A.I. videos. Is it possible to feed Kilmer's body of work into an A.I. machine and have it simulate how he would approach a new film or script? Will that continually improve to the point that the A.I. Kilmer is indistinguishable from the late actor's best work?
That's a thought that keeps many actors up at night.
The reception for "As Deep as the Grave" could go a long way toward deciding the future of the Hollywood movie star. Or a future where acting giants like Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Poitier and Bette Davis get a second act.
