A.I. Artificial Intelligence Reviews

A well-constructed fairy tale concerning a robot boy (Haley Joel Osment), the first of his kind, and how he tries to fit in with his adopted family, especially his mother (Frances O'Connor), and how he becomes convinced he won't earn her love until he becomes a "real boy". Although possessing an overabundance of darkness that definitely threatens to drag it down into the pits at times, the wonderful, mystical 2001-esque conclusion, paired with the great performances and realized story, give this film some life that is desperately needs. It is not a great movie, there are some things in the middle of the story that probably could have been cut out, and the acting at the very beginning feels a little contrived, but overall the character of David feels genuine, which is honestly why this film is a success in the end. It could have expanded on it's man vs. machines battle perhaps a little bit, but at the heart of it all this is a fairy tale story about a boy trying to find out what makes him special and unique. Throw in some Spielbergian fantasy and some Kubrick-esque scenes and lighting choices, this movie is a winner.

Damn it Spielberg you did it again! I thought you wouldn't get me but once again you made me cry whilst watching one of your films, sheesh!. Right...'A.I.', batten down the hatches mateys, this could be a big one.

From the collective minds of Kubrick and Spielberg comes this lavish epic about a little robot boy who is brought into a young couples life. Based on a short story by a writer I admit I've never heard of, yet the idea could easily be mistaken for work from the brains of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov or Philip K. Dick.

Lets begin, this film gave me a headache, not a bad headache, more of a problematic headache. I was stuck and didn't know what to think. The film is a massive story betwixt two ideas or genres almost, on one hand you have the first half of a film that centres around the human angst and emotion of trying to adapt to adopting a robot child. The pain of a mother who's child is at deaths door from disease, and the decision by her husband to offer her a brand new state of the art robot child that for the first time can learn and express love for its 'owner'.

The second half of the film then changes completely, gone is the sentiment and powerful family bound plot as we enter into a more seedy grim world. One could almost say the film adopts many visual concepts from other sci-fi films/genres, which do work on their own, but maybe not together with this story.

The story is enthralling and draws you in...but oh so many questions arise Mr Spielberg, where to begin!. Once we leave the comfort of the family orientated first part of the film we pretty much straight away hit the 'Flesh Fair'. Now this really did seem too harsh for me, a completely disjoined idea that harks back to a 'Mad Max' type world. Why would people of the future act like this towards simple machines? the whole sequence looked like some freaky red neck carnival. It also seemed like a huge setup for not very much, just a few minutes of carnage, was all that fan fair really required?.

This lead me to the question of why do this to old, lost, outdated Mecha's? (the term for robots in this film which sounds a bit Japanese to me). Now surely these robots cost a lot to make, much time, effort, design etc...went into creating them, so surely destroying them is a complete waste. Wouldn't fixing them up for simple labour tasks like cleaning or whatever, be more useful? maybe selling them on? and even if you did have to shut them down, just do it more humanly, why the need for all the violence?. The whole sequence just didn't seem sensible really, and it was thought up by Spielberg!.

Eventually we get to 'Rouge City', where is this suppose to be? why not use a real city?. Again the whole concept seemed out of place, the city seemed much more futuristic than everything else we have seen, plus the architecture was truly odd. The huge tunnel bridges with a woman's gaping open mouth as the opening? it seemed very 'Giger-esq' to me, quite sexual too, kids film anyone?. Then you had buildings shaped like women's boobs and legs etc...geez!. Its here we meet 'Gigolo Joe' who is superbly played by Jude Law I can't deny, but really at the end of the day, was he needed at all?. He is a nice character, very likeable but virtually bordering on a cartoon character, and why the need for the tap dancing?.

The makeup was very good for the Mecha characters, simple yet effective for both Law and Osment. Kudos to Osment of course for his portrayal of the robot 'David', I honestly can say its probably the best performance for a robot I've ever seen. Brilliant casting too I might add, Osment can act but his looks are half the battle won right there, he has this almost perfect plastic looking young face, its all in the eyes I think.

Speaking of characters how can I not mention the star of the film, 'Teddy'. Now this little guy was adorable, I still find myself wanting my own 'Teddy' *whimpers*. Every scene this little fellow was in I loved, I loved to see him waddle around and assist 'David' in his simple electronic voice. I found myself caring for all the characters in this film but especially 'Teddy', he was just awesome. Sure he seemed to have some kind of infinite power source but that made him even cooler damn it!. What really broke my heart was we don't know what happens to lill 'Teddy', we see him at the end but what becomes of him?? what Steven WHAT??!!. I loved that lill guy *sniff*.

As you near the end of the film and its multiple ongoing finales you literately get submerged in questions. 2000 years pass from the time 'David' is trapped under the sea and his rescue (the ferris wheel didn't crush the helicopter/sub thingy??), in that time the planet has gone from global warming jungles to a MASSIVE ice age? I mean a REALLY HEAVY ice age. Now I'm no scientist but that doesn't seem right. I might quickly add, in the future why are all the skyscrapers in New York in tatters? as if they've been burnt out?. Sure the bottom of them has been flooded but they look like skeletons! as if a nuke hit them, eh?.

The we get to the evolved Mecha's (or 'Close Encounter' aliens). How would these robots evolve into these angelic liquid-like creatures?? I don't get it, if the human race became extinct tomorrow would computers evolve into alien-like creatures?. Sure these robots can fix themselves and update themselves but that far? really?. Then you gotta ask yourself why would they be digging up old human remains? they know humans created them, OK they might not understand why but does that matter?. They clearly have highly advanced technology so why don't they travel space and look for new similar intelligent life?. Why bother with the human race, of which many despised them anyway, treated them like crap.

This then leads onto the resurrection part of the story. I still can't quite work out why 'David's' mother would only live for one day when brought back. There is an explanation from the advanced Mecha's but I couldn't follow it. Again we then have all manner of plot issues...why his mother doesn't recall her husband or son when she wakes, she doesn't question why 'David' is there, she's disorientated but doesn't question anything. She doesn't seem to remember anything like the fact she was probably an old lady when she was last 'awake', and she doesn't ask to go outside! they stay inside the whole time. You could say the advanced Mecha fixed it so she wouldn't recall anything so not to jeopardize the situation, but when she wakes she acts as if nothing happened and its just a new day.

Where the plot really gets silly is the fact this is all possible simply because 'Teddy' kept some strands of cut hair from 'David's' mother about 2000 years prior. Where on earth did he keep these hairs? its not like he has pockets, and what's more...why did he keep the strands of hair??!!. On top of that, and again I'm no scientist, but surely you'd need the roots of human hair for the DNA, not just cut strands, no?.

Now there are a lot of whines in there but unfortunately there are a lot of plot issues in the film. I won't and can't say its a bad film, its a truly fantastic bit of sci-fi with some lovely design work and visuals, but there are problems along the way. First half is a decent sci-fi story similar to 'Bicentennial Man', second half is really a rehashed rip off of the classic 'Pinocchio' tale set in the future.

The film garnered a lot of interest due to the involvement of Kubrick and Spielberg admittedly but its still a wonderful bit of work. Part sci-fi but all fairytale in the end, the film slowly becomes more of a children's tale the deeper you go, the narration nails that home if you think about it. The very end is kinda tacked on and doesn't feel correct, true, you can see they had trouble ending the film and a weepy ending was required so they made one. But god damn it works *sniff*.

The final sequence of 'David' lying besides his motionless mother still brings a lump to my throat as I type this now. We then see 'Teddy' join them on the bed and just sit down to watch over them both, like a guardian. Does 'David' actually die here? does he voluntarily switch himself off somehow? again...what happens to 'Teddy'? I'm not sure. But as the score swells and the lights dim, you can't help but wipe away a tear.

Amazing, dazzing and criative, A.I. bring the darkness of the master Kubrick and the adventure and optimism by Spielberg, in this Sci-Fi terrific work.

While A.I. certainly does overreach and has it's flaws, it is also a film with such a big heart. This is one of the most ambitious and philosophical fairytales ever told on celluloid and possibly Spielberg's most accomplished film so far.
Never ever before or after has director Spielberg created something this deep or heartbreaking. You could say that A.I. is his magnum opus. It definetly has many familiar themes from other Spielberg films. But what makes this film so unique is the fact that it is result of two gifted artists. Stanley Kubrick always wanted to do this film and when he passed away Steven Spielberg made it all finally happen.
This is no film for cynical people or for those who are not ready to go along it's story. A.I. is a journey of a little boy whose love for his mom is genuine and who only wants to be loved.
Yes, the pacing is not always working and the ending feels awfully stretched, but overall this is a film which is spectacular to experience and look at. Spielberg creates a future like we have never seen before. And when the film reaches it's climax it is almost impossible to not be moved.
This is a bedtimestory with a big heart and one of the best films in Spielberg's filmography.

If you didn't already know: Stanley Kubrick had the rights to film this Brian Aldiss short story, but when he died, Steven Spielberg took the project over. The aesthetic bears a resemblance to Kubrick's 2001, and also, in the middle third, to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, or Tron. Plot-wise, you could compare it to The Wizard of Oz, and of course, Pinocchio, as the overt references in the film tell us.

Having never seen Haley Joel Osment in anything other than Sixth Sense, I have to say, he impressed me. There was actually an arc in his performance as he became less robot and more human. The rest of the actors I could take or leave, all of them character or B-list types, save for the glittered Jude Law.

The premise worked, but the film alternated between abosolutely wondrous and just plain cheesy several times throughout, and often, while my jaw was dropping at the visuals, my brain was saying "Wait, why did he do that?" or "Get on with it!"

In the end, it's too long, but I think a lot of people/reviewers were a little too hard on it. I don't think I'd rewatch it, but I get why some people would. For me, I thought it was trying to be too many things at once - a perfect homage to Kubrick, if you think about it - and the Spielberg gloss only saved it sometimes. It's almost a masterpiece, but it just misses the mark.

Can a robot be taught to love and be genuinely loved in return? Exploring this very fascinating subject, as well as a number of other philosophical themes, this well-crafted sci-fi yarn has much to offer when it comes to engaging moral debate. Spielberg, who took over the helm for this film after the sudden passing of Stanley Kubrick, knows how to effectively win our attention and pull at our heartstrings. Many have accused this film of being too sentimental, and in some ways I may agree. Overall though, I thought it was a very poignant and thought-provoking experience. Revolving around the fate of a "mecha child" named David (played outstandingly by Haley Joel Osment), it's a story that really gets under the skin, with its rather complex dilemmas and haunting visuals. Is it right to treat an artificial being however we please, simply because it's not human? And where do we draw the line between life and non-life? You'll find it difficult to watch this movie, without pondering at least once about these questions. Pacing-wise, things move very slowly in the first hour or so, but once David is set free into the world, the story gets a lot better and become really exciting and adventurous. Beside Haley, the ensemble also includes talents like Brendan Gleeson and Jude Law. Law especially is really superb as the robotic "Gigolo Joe", who goes on the run after being tied to a murder he did not commit. Phenomenal special effects to boot, which even 10 years after their making, still impresses the eyes. My favourite part of the movie comes with its final 30 min, where we are transported through time to quite an imaginative vision of Earth in the far-distant future. I wish I could say more, but I don't wanna spoil anything for those that haven't seen it yet. What I can divulge though, is that it's a journey well worth taking. Especially if you're a fan of either of its two master storytellers.

I figured writing a review to A.I. would be a good follow-up to my 2001 review which was my 300th review. A.I. Artificial Intelligence was originally going to be made by the late Stanley Kubrick but picked up by Stephen Spielberg shortly after his death. After seeing 2001, I can easily see that this is a great homage to a late and great director.

The film is set in a dark and gloomy future where the polar ice caps have melted and the great cities have flooded. A robot, or "meccha", named David is built. He is designed to show love and is given to a family who lost a child. David's human caretaker, Monica, can't deal with him and sends him out into the world. David dreams of becoming a real boy and sets out on a journey with the help of a Meccha gigolo named Joe and his robotic teddy bear, Teddy, to the find the key to becoming a real boy: The Blue Fairy.

Artificial Intelligence is quite underrated in my opinion. It is one of my favorites from Spielberg. This is one of two Spielberg movies, the other being Saving Private Ryan, in which we totally forget who's directing. Spielberg didn't make this, Kubrick did. It has a lot of silent moments and camera angles that the director may have used. However, the second portion of the film feels very Spielbergian but the end is Kubrick all the way!

The performances in this film are fantastic. Kudos go to Haley Joel Osment, the kid from The Sixth Sense, for his portrayal of David. Jude Law was great as the Gigolo. My favorite character in the film was Teddy. He was brilliant! I will go out of my way to get a supertoy teddybear. The writing was very good and the effect were amazing. Better than some of the films released today.

I got to wrap up this review. I'm at a library and I only have 8 minutes left on the computer. This movie shook many emotions in me but my only issue with it is that it has too many conflicts. However, i enjoyed every minute of it from the visuals to the direction to the performances. I do reccomend this one. You're gonna want to have a box of Kleenex with you towards the end.

"I've been counting the seconds since last we met."

Ai was incredible storytelling, but end with me feeling empty and feeling bad. Haley Joel Osment is a very talented actor in this and The Sixth Sense, but I don't understand why hes not in movies anymore? The plot is a work of genius, another great futuristic vision by Spielberg. Jude Law as a robot male prostitute... WTF? The visual effects in this film are amazing and well done. This movie is more of a drama than a sci-fi, and sometimes that worked, and sometimes not. The ending was a major dissappointment, it wasnt a tearjerking heartfelt moment, it was a F#CK YOU moment. Overall a good movie.

Poignant, sentimental and truly fascinating. A movie to behold for the contemplative, it provokes the viewer about life and primal, unconditional love and morality. In the end, we realize then that life is beautiful when you can love, and it's all that really matters.

Incredible story that is both complex and intriguing, filled with metaphors to the delight of the intellect. Though one would wonder how this would've turned out if Kubrick directed, it is nevertheless, a deliverer in the classic Spielberg sentimental and profound film.

One of the few times in cinema that I've been both entertained and moved equally. I wept like a baby during the last 20 minutes or so the film and it's that it's unusual for me to do that, but the film just really hit home. This is an incredibly well-told story, with a proper use of special effects as a means to help tell that story. The bottom line is that it's amazing, and Haley Joel Osment deserved an Oscar nod for his performance.

A brilliant story of a boy who wants to be real. Before I watched this I didn't know what I was letting myself in for, but the narrative is haunting but inspirational. Haley Joel Osment's performance was one of a kind with his big bright eyes looking at the world like he'd never seen it before. Truly amazing but an extremely sad film. My only issue was that it was a bit too long which took away some of the impact of the film.

I believe that "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" is Steven Spielberg at his riskiest. He has never been so emotionally daring or so probing with his themes. The film is extremely resonant in all the right ways. It's emotionally haunting as well as viscerally thrilling. The future Spielberg crafted is one that is real and tangible. It seems extremely authentic. It's great to see a contemporary science-fiction film that is both emotionally engaging, visually stunning and best of all well acted. Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law and Frances O'Connor are wonderful here, adding that layer of family dynamic and human condition that Spielberg does so well with. "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" is Steven Spielberg's most underrated and overlooked film. I personally think it's one of his best for so effortlessly combining his various sensibilities.

I suprised myself by liking this film quite a lot, even though it nearly made me cry a couple of times (yes I am soppy). The ending was a bit overblown perhaps, but overall I enjoyed it very much. Gigolo Joe was probably my favourite character, I'm not usually a big fan of Jude Law but he played an android pretty well.

Modern retelling of "Pinocchio", originally helmed by Stanley Kubrick. The story, adapted from Brian Aldiss's "Super-toys Last all Summer Long", showed tremendous potential for a really dark cinematic experience, but Steven Spielberg's characteristic style rendered it a little cheesy (albeit slightly creepy). Kubrick's vision would have helped the film a lot more.

Nevertheless, it's one of those films you can't help but call "beautiful". The performances by Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law are great, as well.

I think this movie was brilliant. David (Haley Joel Osment) acted really good for his age. The story kinda reminds me of Bicentennial Man. You know robot having feelings and stuff but thanks Allah that they didn't end up creating artificial heart/body/etc. The story was very heart touching. Every time I watch this kinda film, I think that it can only happen in movies. No human have that ability to create a living thing (yes challenge me and you'll end up being embarrassed so don't even hope that it's gonna happen in future). But anyway, the ending was pretty sad.

A strange maze you have to maneuver with an open mind.

An awesome odyssey of a robot-boy's journey to become a real boy. I was with him all the way. Very heart-touching. The tacked-on last 30 minutes of the movie really worked for me. It's a great adventure which I find myself re-watching quite often. It poses a lot of questions about what it is to be human. One of the hilights was the robotic teddy bear. Warning: it has some very sad and emotionally disturbing scenes; some people might feel like their hearstrings are being manipulated. Probably on my top-20 list for all time.

Favorite Scenes: when David meets the Blue Fairy and when when Teddy reveals the clipping...

Underated and misunderstood, only time will reveal what A.I. really is, a masterpeice.

Really amazing. Full review later.

A great visual film that is a perfect ode to Stanley Kubrick's idea. The story was an interesting take in Pinnochio that is actually one of the most effective adaptions. The acting was perfect and Haley Joel Osment was a great choice.