Genres

Visitors Review

SpiderPants 2012-05-25 03:18:11

I wonder...

This could have been a truly great piece of work, but unfortunately, aftermuch thought, I feel like it just can't be done. The movie is based on ashort story, but there are obvious parallels to the story of Pinochio. A toyis created, and then that toy is granted consciousness. The toy, in themovie, is a Robot played by Haley Joel-Osment; it's meant as a substitutechild for people wanting children of their own but cannot. In this casehowever, the two people were already parents, but their son was sick andcomatosed. After awhile, their true son is returned to them, and thiscreates obvious conflicts. The Robot boy is made to leave, and then he goesout in search of becoming a real boy, so that he will become accepted. Thisis the major cause for problems that occur at the end of the movie. Thismovie isn't a real fairy tale. We're told to believe all of the things thathappen in this movie, as if they are possible. And for the most part, wehave no trouble doing that. The superb acting of Osment lets us believe thathe is a robot trying to conquer the gap between human and machine. But as itseems apparent, the last thirty minutes come off as a completely other moviein itself. The events that transpire in the end are ludicrous, and they leftme bored and wishing the credits would come rolling up, even though I knewit wouldn't happen. The happy ending that Spielberg tries for left meannoyed. It would appear that the real problem in this movie that tries tolive up to a fairytale, is that there is no reasonable way to make a robotinto a real boy. He will never genuinely love, because he was onlyprogrammed. I am hoping that there will be a director's cut to this movie. Ithink with some editing, it could be a far superior film to what is beingwatched now. Everything was well done. The acting, directing, and thespecial effects were all wonderful and beautiful. There were just plot holesthat left the movie having to go in a ridiculous direction. And if Spielbergcould peruse himself into avoiding the happy ending, there could be a muchbetter ending that wouldn't bore me and roll my eyes.~Christopher

gar714 2012-05-24 13:06:45

I hate this movie

and resent it for the 2+ hours of my life that I spent viewing it, all thewhile hoping that the outcome would eventually justify the maudlinand manipulative tactics used by the creators to make this shortstory more `meaningful.' Perhaps my expectations were inflatedbecause of the Kubrick/Spielberg pedigree. Yes, the specialeffects were awesome at times, but ultimately I think you'll findrunning the vacuum more rewarding for your time.

2012-05-16 15:25:13

Flawed Philosophy

Though artful and well crafted, this film is entirely dependant onanthropomorphism. I found Teddy to be the most human character of theentire film. If you can get past the implausibility of the premise, andtheunrelenting darkness of the film, the film can stimulate some gooddiscussion by the philisophical questions it raises even though the film'sanswers were so unsatisfactory.

LtCol_Kilgore 2012-05-15 23:15:23

Flawed, yet haunting experience- overall very good

`A.I.' is a flawed masterpiece, a title often placed on the wrong films.`Blade Runner' is a similar film that deserves the moniker, as well as theformer. Both have haunting and at times devastating effects, yet havenoticeable faults that can not be excused. Of course, imperfection wasinevitable with this film being a Kubrick/Spielberg collaboration ofsorts.Kubrick influenced the film greatly, as it was to be perhaps his finalproduction. Unfortunately, the cinematic genius died before he couldproducemuch, and Spielberg took over. The two have completely different styles.Spielberg is an audience pleaser and Kubrick is pessimistic. As a result,there is a noticeable mixing of styles. The film at times is relentlesslydepressing and trite at others. However, these are not the film's bigflaws;I found the collision of Spielberg and Kubrick to result in a lack ofpolitical and social messages. For a film with an ambitious plot likethis,that is inexcusable.Haley Joel Osment, once more seeming like he is 7 years old as opposed to13, plays David. David looks identical to a human boy and behaves mostlylike one, too. However, he is a `mecha,' or an android. The time is in thefuture, and polar ice caps have melted, devastating cities such as NewYork.As an attempt to solve population and labor crises, androids aredeveloped.However, David is of a revolutionary type of android. His purpose is toactas a pet of sorts. He is a mechanical son, designed to genuinely love hisowner(s). Upon creation by the hopeful Dr. Hobby, David is adopted by theSwinton family of Maria, Henry, and their son Martin, who is recoveringfroma near lethal illness. David is programmed to love Maria, and he loves hermore than anything else in his world, but he inadvertently wreaks martialhavoc amongst the Swintons and is forced to flee. Accompanied only by the`supertoy' teddy bear Teddy, David wanders a strange world only to find agroup of androids fleeing for their lives. It is here that he meets GigoloJoe, a suave android prostitute who accompanies David everywhere. The twothen search the hostile world in order to help David achieve his dreams ofbecoming a real boy so that he can return to Maria and be loved.Both characteristics of the two aforementioned directors are visible.Kubrick's perpetually negative, cynical and perhaps even nihilistic viewsare captured in multiple images. Throughout Kubrick's films, stunningimagescan be found, and `A.I.' is deeply reminiscent of those visuals. Forinstance, shots of a bridges with massive stone statues used for support,anunderwater Coney Island, blanketed by encroaching seaweed, and Rouge City,asmorgasbord of brilliant electric lights and skyscraping nightclubs,enrapture the viewer. Another extremely haunting shot sequence is the viewof a nearly submerged New York City, with only a handful of skyscrapersprotruding from the murky depths, including the hand of the Statue ofLiberty. The visual portrayal of Earth in its twilight, in a state ofmelancholy, left me unsettled and saddened. Hours after the film, `A.I.'s'content still remained in my mind, engraved. Unfortunately, Spielbergsacrifices Kubrick's trademark scathing social messages for his owntrademark audience pleasing sentimentality. For a film with a plotfeaturinga near-apocalypse, mass android reproduction, and the like, there is a sadabsence of any socially relevant subplots, which always elevated Kubrick'sfilms such as `A Clockwork Orange,' `2001: A Space Odyssey,' and `Dr.Strangelove' to classics. Subplots that one would think to be included yetare only hinted at are racial and ethnic bigotry, the morality of creatingartificial life, and the metaphysics of being alive. Instead of forcingtheviewers to question their own existence and think, Spielberg trades thatuncomfortable material to his own skilled area- emotional power. David'sdesperate search for love brings the viewer to the film's denouement, aludicrously contrived, yet strangely affecting trip through miles of iceandvisitations with other `characters.' The film ends on such an odd note,hopelessly depressing yet somehow poignant at the same time, that finalshotwas etched in my mind throughout the day and the next. I turned the VCRoff,moved and haunted by the film.Of course, the film is flawed as mentioned earlier. There are multiplefaults with `A.I.,' just one being the relationship between David andGigoloJoe. The two are in constant company with each other, having met randomly,yet their relationship clicks too quickly and is never truly developed.Thescript fails to bind the characters together, leaving an awkward voidwhereinteraction should be. Also, Haley Joel Osment turns in a mostly good andattimes superb performance, yet he once more lapses into his tendency towhisper emotional lines as if that trite behavior will wrench tears fromtheaudience. This habit is extremely obnoxious and manipulative; any viewertouched by it should be banned from films forever. Aside from this, a lotoffocus on the film has revolved around the abundance of underdevelopedsubplots. While this is the case, I never felt this facet of the film tobedamaging. These include a crime associated with Gigolo Joe, Dr. Hobby'sobsession with David, and a few other threads that if more developed,wouldhave served little use other than to further prolong the film. Instead,theshould-have-been-subplots that I mentioned earlier were of a greaternecessity to the film.No matter how visible the scars of fault are in `A.I.,' the sheeremotionaleffect of the film overwhelms them. The viewer will nevertheless bestirredby this film, no matter how imperfect it is. Many loathe this wonderfulfilmfor a variety of rationales; I am a supporter. No film of 2001 has movedmeas much as this, not even `In the Bedroom,' yet I am not quite sure if Iamready to declare `A.I.' the best film of the year. It may be. Surely, itisone of them.

2012-05-05 23:42:52

They were kidding, right?

This has to be one of the worst movies I've seen on the big screen. Or, actually, three of the worst movies, because it seemed to be three somewhat irrelevant movies patched together. The first was actually relatively engaging and dark--the Pinnocchio tale of a mechanical boy given to a family to replace a terminally comatose child. Then--Ta-DUM!--the original boy miraculously recovers, and the second movie, an overblown and disturbingly bad story of a runaway on a quest, ensues. And later comes the third. I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it (as if I could spoil it !), but let's just say I laughed aloud. A few minutes later, when I realized they really WEREN'T kidding, I became terribly depressed... I would have bailed at that point, if I hadn't been glued to the floor by a year-old puddle of coke. Chewing my leg off to get free wasn't an option, unfortunately, because I'm a vegetarian.Frankly, I can't imagine anything a DVD could add to this flick. Unless...Perhaps there's a track that features Haley Joel Osment, confessing that aliens kidnapped him and sucked him into this project. Or maybe Jude Law, who actually did look like he was enjoying himself up there, laughing all the way to the bank. Or maybe Steven Spielberg...Naw.

2012-05-05 16:43:41

For Those Who Like to Think about Meaning

I'm very glad this movie finally came out in DVD format. Ever since I saw it with my wife I've been yearning to add it to my collection - very small - of DVD movies I felt worth keeping. This movie addresses a fundamental question we all ask and seek to answer in many different ways. I personally could not help seeing the similarity between the boy's search for the Blue Fairy and the pursuit of some men and women after their creator for the answers that will give their lives meaning, and to remain alongside that which gives meaning. For the thinker and the searcher-there is no other I could recommend this movie to.

Aficionadodelosmovies 2012-05-03 15:27:10

Futuristic Fairy Tale

I found this movie to be wonderful. I compare it to a combination ofMission To Mars with the aliens, Bicentennial man with the use of therobots, and 2001 A Space Odyssey with the feeling that you are left withafterwards. It almost seems to be a reproduction of the fairy talePinocchio with today's standards of the future. The teddy bear that wenteverywhere with David represented Jiminy Cricket. David representedPinocchio. The Swintons represented the old man that created Pinocchio.And Martin played the part of all the other boys that Pinocchio wanted tobelike. It is an enchanting tale of a "boy" who explores he realm to findhis true desire, his mother's love. Yet there is so much happening in themovie, in order to enjoy the movie you need to go see it with an open mindand imagination. Credit must be given to both Spielberg and Kubick forcreating such a wonderful story.

Phoenix-107 2012-05-03 03:44:17

Damn That Spielberg And His Happy Endings

When I first read a review of A.I., I was informed that Kubrick's andSpielberg's respective styles in this movie clash. I wasn't sure I would seeit myself, but oh man, was it there. A perfectly good Kubrickian sci-fi taleis ruined at the end by *SPOILERS*stupid talking aliens and a happy sweet ending. Had the movie ended withDavid praying to the statue at underwater Coney Island, I would have giventhis movie a 9.*SPOILERS END*Instead, the dopey ending dropped the movie's rating three whole points, andI walked out feeling disappointed and rather angry at Spielberg fortampering with Kubrick's vision of how this movie shouldbe.

DennisT 2012-04-29 06:18:03

Captivating but too disjointed in it's "message".

************* Possible Giveaways**************Although visually stunning and gives you much to discuss afterward, Ithought it was too disjointed in it's message (I never did know what thatwas). There were too many different concepts. Sci-Fi buffs (as myself)were attracted to it's ads but the Science was poor, if not annoying, andlogic of events was awlful. The "parents" acted as if they knew nothing ofrobots. What's supposed to happen when the boy "grows up" or can he. Is theMother supposed to have a child-Mother relationship for her next 50 yrs?Special effects were good, however, as we all expect thesedays.Spielberg is trying to use his artistry in a sci-fi setting. Too illogicalto work. His view of the future is bleak and black at every turn - immoralrobots, the Fleshpits, Rouge City, Flooding of the earth.How could "Love" from a robot boy fit in at all in this society. The Movie seemed to be a combination of other movie techniques alldifferent. That is, passive scenes in the beginning to the FleshPits like"Mad Max at Thunderdrome", to the journey to see Dr. Know - ala the "Wizardof Oz", and narration style at the end by Ben Kingsly, as well as the "2nd"ending - which seemed like a stretch just to have happyending.Recent similar movies that I thought were much better and evenly made are :"Bicentennial Man" with Robin Williams and " Gattica".It was captivating but my rating is about 6 of 10.

Robert Vann Smith 2012-04-28 15:36:13

A Very Intelligent Movie, Indeed

I meant to comment on this movie almost a year ago when I first sawit.This was one movie I thoroughly enjoyed. I believe it to be Haley JoelOsment's best movie ever.What would we do for love ? For affection ? To never have to be lonely again ?This movie tugs at those heart strings and left me crying thru a big part ofthe story.

jaarona 2012-04-25 04:26:33

an emotional wallop

I wanted to cry. Haley Joel Osment is the best actor out there. Acrossthe board. The story was top notch. Casting was excellent. It lookedgreat and I didn't feel manipulated.Although I liked Schindler's List and Saving Private RyanA.I. shows us why Mr. Spielberg is Mr. Spielberg. Had Mr. Kubrick told this story it probably would have lackedtheemotional wallop.It shows what happens when all elements of a film are completely and satisfyingly developed.It was a beautiful film.

nexus006 2012-04-24 10:03:58

possibly the worst movie of all time

I haven't endured a more painful cinematic since Howard the Duck.The story was lifeless. The human characters just as robotic as the main character.The "wizard" was a total joke. A blade runner rip off with no edge or style.

dswaq 2012-04-23 10:36:31

Had the potential, but didnt quite make it

This movie started out pretty interesting...seeing the possible future wasreally cool. But the story seemed to become less and less Intriguing as itwent on.*possible spoilers*I found Jude Law's Character (Gigolo Joe) to be quite bizarre. Whenever hewas around it felt the film could burst into a musical at anytime.But it was towards the end where I think the film lost most of itsappeal...It strayed too far from original story. Fast forward a couplethousand years, throw in some aliens and it just got even wierder.And then a couple times near the end, the camera would slowly start to zoomout and that Monologue voice would come in; and I found myself a littlerelieved it was over...but then it kept going and going. But looking backit still was not a bad film, but nothing great.Oh and if you watch it again, try and see if the kid blinks once during theentire movie (i didnt see it once)

2012-04-23 08:39:47

A.I.

Jude & Haley are frightenly robotic and believable and Teddy is fantastic. The special effects are amazing, but the script borders on cheese just as you think you're on a roll. If you want to watch Pinocchio, then watch this, but if you want a good sci-fi film go watch BladeRunner.

ghg 2012-04-22 06:09:19

Well Done.

First off Ive read some of the negative reviews on the film and I gottasayyou people have seem to have missed the point entirely. AI is not ET, AIisnot 2001, AI is not supposed to have been the definitive work by eitherKubrick or Spielberg. If you look at the movie with only expectations onwhat you've seen in the past then your going to walk away dissapointed.Butif your willing to go in, like I did (although being somewhat pessimistictowards the genre) with an open mind you'll find this film to be a verydeepcharacter study of the human condition. If the film were to follow theconventional order of huge explosions, fast cutting, etc, it would fallintothe usual bargain bin scifi flop. But Spielberg did something reallyamazingwith this film, he's able to to grasp at a very deep need all people have,and he's able to do it in such a way thats its neither sappy nor cliche. Iwalked out of this movie stunned, I didnt know what to feel, but Iidentified with the story. AI is the most thought provoking, heartprovokingfilm Ive seen in a long time.

2012-04-21 12:23:02

annoying and boring

Is this Disney, a chickflick or Sci-Fi? The only good parts are the futuristic eye candy which I wanted to relax and enjoy but kept getting annoyed by the obnoxious kid who sees dead people. And I wont even talk about that stomach churning scene where the two brats are shoveling spinach into their mouths and showing their chewed up food. This is the great Spielberg?!! Keep the barf bag handy... In its many components, it tries to have something for everyone and instead has nothing for anyone. Whats with this teddy bear, is it Disney? No cause it has sexual scenes such as the boys in the car being magically touched in the crotch. What is it? [junk].

AKS-6 2012-04-17 02:08:17

Someone should have to apologize for the last 30 minutes

[This comment SPOILERS!]A.I. has received mixed reviews here in Sweden, therefore I wasn't expectinganything at all when I went to the cinema today. As far as I was concernedit could be a great film or it could be a bad film. What I got though, wassomething good _and_ bad. A.I. started off quite brilliant and ended up aspretentious pseudo-intelligent cr*p. Now, as I said, A.I. starts off greatand the first 90 minutes are engaging, interesting, and heart-breaking. Theintroduction of Jude Law's character (Gigolo Joe) is great. Then somethinghappens... Oh my. I don't even want to think about those last thirtyminutes. Everyone started laughing... If the film had ended with Davidpraying to the Blue Fairy for eternity I would have left the cinema feelingquite different about the film than I do now. Why did there have to bealiens? It's just such a horrible idea. But... Nevertheless, it's a 6 out of10. Haley Joel Osment is fantastic, Law is great, the special and visualeffects are also good... And the first 90 minutes are wonderful.Oh, and of course, Teddy gets a 10/10!

Chris 2012-04-16 11:31:06

Not One of Spielberg's Best

This was simply an okay movie. The acting is good and just like on all of Spielberg's other films, the direction is good also.But the whole story and premise just doesn't entertain me. It's also pretty dissapointing when it's all over.The movie may be worth one viewing, but not in my book.

Vicky 2012-04-15 01:02:20

Pretty Good

I first wanted to see Artificial Intelligence because Haley Joel Osment isone of my 2 favorite actors (The other is Heath Ledger)...I am so glad I watched it! It is a very good movie... Except the ending,right when the fish started carrying Haley up to the surface, that's when itgot stupid!It is still one of my favorite movies though!*Vicky*

DVD GUY 2012-04-14 13:37:26

Redeemed only by Haley Joel Osmet

This movie ultimately falls apart under some careful scrutiny.***SPOILERS***If the mechas dont cry out for help when caught for the flesh fair..why dothey run away at all?... but yet they dont have a problem standing therewith a smile on their face while getting an ACID BATH? If David was neverable to sleep, why/how then does he manage this at the end? (He cannot be areal boy remember?)....how could David screw up his internals by swallowingfood, but ALL THAT WATER DOESNT DO ANYTHING? If the Dr. was able tomanipulate David into finding his way back to the center, why couldnt hefind David after he threw himself off the building? At first I really likedthis movie, but a movie must be able to hold up upon examination, and A.Idoes not. The only saving grace of this flick is the performance of HaleyJoel Osmet. I'm very dissapointed. 2 out of 4 stars.