AI: Artificial Intelligence
Directed by Steven Spielberg
With Hayley Joel Osment, Jude Law, William Hurt

In a very Bladerunner fashion, Spielberg takes the Sci-Fi story originally eyed by movie master Stanley Kubrick and turns it into an awesome look at the future and the advance of robots to near-human beings. Kubrick was going to direct, but approached Spielberg for the task, as he wanted to act as producer in stead, sadly passing away before it hit the screens. Where robots were originally functioning within society without as much emotion as the real thing, a scientist develops the first child robot with the ability to love - David. His journey into the world of humans and their many flaws, heightens his innocence and more idealistic programming. When the family who's cryogenically frozen boy whom he "replaced" gets better, David is discarded, having to fend for himself, unable to grasp the reasons. Once he hooks up with a renegade gigolo robot, they start the journey to find his purpose (via the Pinocchio clues). The nasty side of humanity, its intolerance and abuse of emotions surface in the eyes of machines whose interpretation of these unconditional feelings are a bit too real and pure for some. Consequences of playing God and the repercussions of such creations obviously feature. That Spielberg-E.T. atmosphere is present, but with a strong Bladerunner sense (as mentioned before), especially in the neon drenched futuristic city illuminating this world of tomorrow. A.I. travels beyond your expectations and becomes a very moving and emotional piece of Sci-Fi cinema (or possible Science-Fact?), all stemming from a boy who is in fact nothing more than mechanical parts & programming. The fact that we get to feel for a "lifeless" robot may perhaps reflect good on us - that our compassion can reach beyond our own humanity. While a hanky or two may be handy, it is hardly a soppy kids' flick, the slow but rewarding pace taking you into a vastly rich cinematic experience. (Be on the lookout for Ministry shredding it up at the anti-robot destruction scene).

5 / B
- PB

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A - B - C

...the 2nd opinion...

AI: Artificial Intelligence

Directed by Steven Spielberg
With Hayley Joel Osment, William Hurt, Jude Law

Pinnochio Gets a Futuristic Makeover.
Originally slated to be one of late director Stanley Kubrick's last projects, the futuristic story of a robot child who is programmed to act and respond emotionally finally made it to celluloid realization through the eyes of Steven Spielberg. What, albeit slowly, starts out like a reasonable futuristic cyberpunk story where a prototype child robot is programmed and designed to love and give a childless couple (and eventually single wealthy Hollywood lesbians, no doubt) a glimmer of parenthood, soon picks up pace but alas, begins to fall apart with all the grace of a tomato-box go-kart not built to stand up to the rigours of the race. Spielberg irritatingly references the Pinnochio fairytale throughout, supposedly as a justification for this cinematic equivalent of the appendix - ie: useless and potentially detrimental. Keep an ear out for the film's liberal doom-and-gloom-environmental commentry geared towards today's gullible audiences in the opening line: "The world was submerged in water after the polar ice caps had melted from the greenhouse gases..." or something like that - okay, it's Sci-Fi, but puh-leez...! Boring borrowed visions of a post-apocalyptic future are commonplace as the story becomes too involved, attempts to touch on too many complex issues (worthy of full-length films themselves) and ultimately has to unravel itself with the help of some alien narration! Sound ridiculous? It IS! Thank God Stanley Kubrick did indeed not make this major disappointment. Jude Law's great, quirky performance is utterly WASTED on this tripe whose nose grows ever longer as it fumbles along.

3 / C
- Brett Reynolds (USA)

1 2 3 4 5 6
A - B - C