A.I. - Artificial Intelligence (2001)

History will place an asterisk next to A.I. as the film Stanley Kubrick might have directed. But let the record also show that Kubrick--after developing this project for some 15 years--wanted Steven Spielberg to helm this astonishing sci-fi rendition of Pinocchio, claiming (with good reason) that it veered closer to Spielberg's kinder, gentler sensibilities. Spielberg inherited the project (based on the Brian Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") after Kubrick's death in 1999, and the result is an astounding directorial hybrid. A flawed masterpiece of sorts, in which Spielberg's gift for wondrous enchantment often clashes (and sometimes melds) with Kubrick's harsher vision of humanity, the film spans near and distant futures with the fairy-tale adventures of an artificial boy named David (Haley Joel Osment), a marvel of cybernetic progress who wants only to be a real boy, loved by his mother in that happy place called home.

Echoes of Spielberg's Empire of the Sun are clearly heard as young David, shunned by his trial parents and tossed into an unfriendly world, is joined by fellow "mecha" Gigolo Joe (played with a dancer's agility by Jude Law) in his quest for a mother-and-child reunion. Parallels to Pinocchio intensify as David reaches "the end of the world" (a Manhattan flooded by melted polar ice caps), and a far-future epilogue propels A.I. into even deeper realms of wonder, even as it pulls Spielberg back to his comfort zone of sweetness and soothing sentiment. Some may lament the diffusion of Kubrick's original vision, but this is Spielberg's A.I. (complete with one of John Williams's finest scores), a film of astonishing technical wizardry that spans the spectrum of human emotions and offers just enough Kubrick to suggest that humanity's future is anything but guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

One of the best... ever

This movie was supposed to be done by Stanley Kubrick but he died before it was complete. As a Kubrick film, one should know what to expect, but add in Steven Spielberg and the effect is warmer and still unsettling.
Just a side issue: I would have preferred a wide-screen version, but this is still a fine addition to my Kubrick collection. I pair it with other robot movies like "I Robot" (I know... Asimov) and "Space Odyssey:2001" or "Bicentennial Man" for a fun popcorn night. What more could we want for a post-apocalyptic- dystopia night? September 5, 2008

Makes me cry - 1 of my favorites

This movie makes me cry. I watch it every so often for catharsis (Titanic and Amelie and Shawshank Redemption does the same). One of my favorites. It speaks to me on so many levels. It is very surreal too, which I enjoy. Yes the creatures at the end are robots, not aliens which I thought at first. They just 'evolved'. August 14, 2008

Bleccchhh!

It would be difficult to suggest a director less-suited to the handling of Kubrick's work than Spielberg. Kubrick is cerebral, passionate, hallucinatory... Spielberg is prosaic, predictable, traditional. Kubrick likes to get under your skin with unsettling insights; Spielberg is the master of soapy drama and cheap-shot schlock.

Separately, each director rightly has his fans. Together... well, AI fully demonstrates just how disastrous the pairing could possibly be. It is a film without any redeeming merit whatsoever. Anything that Kubrick brought to the table is lost in a morass of Spielbergian sentimentality and a gush of glossy yet unappealing CGI special effects.

Spielberg has claimed that the (admittedly!) appalling Deus-ex-Machina ending was Kubrick's own. If so, we can only assume that Kubrick would have handled it very differently... or, in fact, that there was some sort of logical bridge that was not yet in place when Spielberg set to work. The first two hours of this film are nauseating and tedious beyond belief... but the ending is like an additional slap in the face, brilliantly emphasizing what an idiot you were to sit through the rest.

If you crave light entertainment, see Jaws, or Jurassic Park. If you want Kubrick, see A Clockwork Orange, or Paths of Glory. But if you value your time and your sanity at all, run a mile to avoid the embarrassing mess that is AI. June 19, 2008

AMAZING - literally(...)

This film is sort of an adventure film with a fairy tale mixed into it. It was quite interestingly told, not AMAZING exactly, but somehow keeping my attention; the last half hour of this film, though, was just AMAZING! It was emotionally charged, filled with THE MOST visionary visuals I've seen in ANY film and by the time I left the theater I was completely satisfied. I haven't bought this film, partly b/c it ticks me off to know that so many people think this film is bad b/c they don't know HOW to think, and that the price of the DVD is so darn cheap, it's like buying it doesn't mean anything. I'm not the kind of person who can reproduce moments at will, like watching a film repeatedly and getting the same feelings from it each viewing, and this is just one of those films that was worth paying for at the theater, and was most enjoyed there, but does not need to be seen 10+ times. May 25, 2008

Excellent dystopian work

As many wish to paint a bright future for us all. This work was a good depiction of what could be.

It begs the question: What defines "a real boy" or humanity?

Most of my family thought the end was sad, but given some thought, realized that it was actually good. It throws your emotions all over. You see the good, bad, and ugly in humanity. The emotions of David's "Mother" - well played. Take special note of when David is "Imprinted" his change in expression... That kid can act! It is no wonder he landed the lead in Second Hand Lions.

Some may find themselves lost in this film as there are some assumptions to what the audience may understand about the subject matter - Certainly in honor of Stanley Kubrick, but not as lost as you were with 2001: A Space Odyssey (he begged Spielberg to do the movie but didn't until after his death).

I thought this movie was excellent - My taste.
For the price; excellent for all.
May 21, 2008

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