Choked by rising seas, under attack from lawless renegades, the world of the future is a dark, damp and dangerous place for Hugh Jackman.
In 'Reminiscence,' the action star plays Nick Bannister, an entrepreneur who helps clients journey through their memories while searching his own to solve a haunting mystery.
Jackman said, "Are our memories actually correct of what happened? And how do we actually create new memories, and a life, rather than just get stuck in the past?"
Thandiwe Newton plays a military vet with a burning internal conflict of her own.
"What I love about the role and the movie," Newton said, "is that there are so many layers to appreciating it."
It's the first feature film for director Lisa Joy, co-creator of HBO's 'Westworld,' another sci-fi creation known for bending reality.
"That fascination with distinguishing fact and fiction is always gnawing away at me," Joy said.
Jackman is a big fan of the director.
"She makes you think but she makes you feel," he said.
Co-star Daniel Wu, who plays the film's villain, agrees.
"To be seeing an Asian American female kicking butt on-set like that, this 100-million-dollar movie, it was just amazing," Wu said, "I was just in awe of her. I was just so happy to see that."
Joy and her team invented new technology for some of the movie's most pivotal scenes.
She said, "I masochistically declared to my crew, 'We're going to make a real hologram machine so that Hugh can interact with it.'"
"How they worked that out, I still don't understand it," Jackman said, "But as an actor it was incredible."
'Reminiscence' paints a mind-bending portrait of a world spinning past the point of no return. Plenty for us to consider, as passengers on a warming planet.
Wu said, "If we don't take care to stop this from happening, we're going to be in those kind of situations not too far in the future. I think it is a good warning for us to really think about the present."
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