A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Rating: 8/10
This is a GREAT movie. I found it extremely moving and emotional. In fact, I was so overcome with emotion by the end of the movie, I was literally choking back sobs.
Why did this movie affect me? I honestly don't know. It might have to do with the fact that I'm fascinated by anything that has to do with the future. I worry about it sometimes, like what will happen. What if the polar ice caps melt? What will we do? When and how far will artificiality go? And how real will they be considered? or what are the moral implications of A.I.? Compared to most viewers and my worries about the future (I'm not paranoid about it though), I think I had an unusually strong emotional reaction. Maybe it was Haley Joel Osment's amazing performance. One thing I noticed is that like a true robot, he never blinked. He was actually kind of creepy at first, but by the end I actually felt extremely sorry for David, even though he was, essentially, a machine. That kid deserves another Oscar nomination.
Jude Law's performance was also very good, his character Gigolo Joe was entertaining and lightened up the somber mood cast by David's obsession with finding the Blue Fairy and reuniting with his mother (played wonderfully by Frances O'Connor). I would have liked to see more of his character interacting with his "clients". The concept of an artificial lover was intriguing. With his perfectly made up features, he looked artificial but strikingly beautiful. He was all style, all prancing, preening attitude.
On a technical aspect, A.I. is phenomenal. Spielberg's directing is topnotch, turning the movie from a sterile quietness in the beginning to a warm solitude at the end. The visual effects are astounding, but subtle. They are not the reason for seeing it, nor do they think they are. They are used to help tell the story, not be the story like in most summer popcorn flicks. Spielberg's effects are reminiscent of past work, especially with the use of the ultra-advanced robots at the end, and the scenes of a drowned and abandoned New York City are both beautiful and haunting.
It's easy to see why critics and movie-goers are half and half on the film. Some may find the pace too slow, for one. And it's certainly not a check-your-brains-at-the-door summer popcorn flick. Maybe it's too intelligent? I was stunned over and over again by its ability to raise important philosophical and social issues.
It is a journey into the mind and into the soul of humanity; searching for questions and answers concerning our existence and the meaning of our presence. It is very good that the film doesn't provide any real answers to the questions it raises. If it would have tried to, A.I. would have been just another unrealistic Hollywood, sci-fi blockbuster. It was very brave of Steven Spielberg to avoid pleasing the crowd with easy answers and a normally developing story.
There are lots of questions you'll be asking yourself at the end and lots of people hate when a films meaning isn't handed to them on a silver platter. But I think if you are reasonably mature, intelligent and can appreciate a movie that forces you to think, it is not to be missed.
This is a GREAT movie. I found it extremely moving and emotional. In fact, I was so overcome with emotion by the end of the movie, I was literally choking back sobs.
Why did this movie affect me? I honestly don't know. It might have to do with the fact that I'm fascinated by anything that has to do with the future. I worry about it sometimes, like what will happen. What if the polar ice caps melt? What will we do? When and how far will artificiality go? And how real will they be considered? or what are the moral implications of A.I.? Compared to most viewers and my worries about the future (I'm not paranoid about it though), I think I had an unusually strong emotional reaction. Maybe it was Haley Joel Osment's amazing performance. One thing I noticed is that like a true robot, he never blinked. He was actually kind of creepy at first, but by the end I actually felt extremely sorry for David, even though he was, essentially, a machine. That kid deserves another Oscar nomination.
Jude Law's performance was also very good, his character Gigolo Joe was entertaining and lightened up the somber mood cast by David's obsession with finding the Blue Fairy and reuniting with his mother (played wonderfully by Frances O'Connor). I would have liked to see more of his character interacting with his "clients". The concept of an artificial lover was intriguing. With his perfectly made up features, he looked artificial but strikingly beautiful. He was all style, all prancing, preening attitude.
On a technical aspect, A.I. is phenomenal. Spielberg's directing is topnotch, turning the movie from a sterile quietness in the beginning to a warm solitude at the end. The visual effects are astounding, but subtle. They are not the reason for seeing it, nor do they think they are. They are used to help tell the story, not be the story like in most summer popcorn flicks. Spielberg's effects are reminiscent of past work, especially with the use of the ultra-advanced robots at the end, and the scenes of a drowned and abandoned New York City are both beautiful and haunting.
It's easy to see why critics and movie-goers are half and half on the film. Some may find the pace too slow, for one. And it's certainly not a check-your-brains-at-the-door summer popcorn flick. Maybe it's too intelligent? I was stunned over and over again by its ability to raise important philosophical and social issues.
It is a journey into the mind and into the soul of humanity; searching for questions and answers concerning our existence and the meaning of our presence. It is very good that the film doesn't provide any real answers to the questions it raises. If it would have tried to, A.I. would have been just another unrealistic Hollywood, sci-fi blockbuster. It was very brave of Steven Spielberg to avoid pleasing the crowd with easy answers and a normally developing story.
There are lots of questions you'll be asking yourself at the end and lots of people hate when a films meaning isn't handed to them on a silver platter. But I think if you are reasonably mature, intelligent and can appreciate a movie that forces you to think, it is not to be missed.
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