Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
A.I.
January 20th 2009 06:30
In this envelope would be a treatment for a movie about the reluctant future, where intelligent, humanlike robots are commonplace, but are looked down upon by their human masters. Kubrick also included some concept art and ideas, but no actual script - at least, not one that he was happy with.
Understandably so... in the effort to make "Artificial Intelligence", Kubrick would be following well-trodden ground. Countless science fiction writers and illustrators have depicted this future, where androids form a tragic second class, from the excellent collection of short stories by Asimov, "I, Robot", to one of the submerged themes in "Alien".
After Kubrick's death, though, Spielberg pushed the project through, adding the touch that only Spielberg could make, turning a dark, sinister movie about the sickness and disease of humanity into a heartwarming adventure movie that falls flat into a mushy puddle of sentimentality and drawn out endings.
No, I didn't like "Artificial Intelligence" though I thought it had incredible potential. The little boy robot, played by Haley Joel Osment, is a wonderful central character, his eyes full of apprehension and hesitation, reflecting a world that he was meant to live in, but that he does not understand.
Similarly, the seedy underworld, occupied by Gigolo Joe, played by a plastic faced Jude Law, is deliciously overdrawn, bordering on sexual mania. Law is at his best here, playing like a fine-tuned jukebox, serving human females with the ultimate physical pleasure.
The film veers off into interesting territory, as the relationship between the little boy, David, and the rest of the robots is intriguing - with his modern capacity for love and emotion, he's strangely out of place among robots that are intelligent, yes, but ultimately lacking in some sort of spirit.
Unfortunately, Spielberg would ruin all that, instead preferring to have David race around, searching for his Macguffin, with only topical, easily defeated obstacles to slow him down.
Even when the movie seems to have ended, it continues on, handing off to an even more ridiculous act, with skinny aliens and CGI. If you've seen the execrable "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls", you'll understand the link between the two movies: Spielberg coming out with some inane, superfluous nonsense, and making us sit through it.
It's worth turning off far before this moment, though. You'll have saved yourself 30 minutes and will have avoided the eye-gougingly awful final scenes, which aim for heartbreak, but achieve nothing more than causing the audience to snort in incredulity - what, did someone actually write this nonsense?
I've snorted enough for today, thanks.
I say: While it looks fantastic and seems to go in the right places, Spielberg will shatter your expectations soon enough.
See it for: Gigolo Joe and his female counterpart make an attractive pair. Business must be brisk in Rouge City!
*this image is from This Distracted Globe
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Comment by The Rusty Can
Everything
I agree... I didn't mind the aliens at the end of this movie though, but it ruined Indiana Jones for me.
Good review, Cib - thanks
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Comment by Cibbuano
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aimzster - the teddy bear was fantastic!
wilson - over 20 times, really?
jason - it's got some great scenes, and Osmont does a fantastic job as a little android...
Comment by Damo
I you need to bash a move about a robot wanting to be human see Millennium Man.
This was brilliant in comparison.
But in comparison to other movies it was about average.
However I found the visual style excellent.
Comment by Dawn Ellislopez
Thanks!
Comment by Cibbuano
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Dawn, Jude Law is quite good - some reviewers have mentioned that his character is almost too quirky for the film, and I can see the point...
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
yer but anyway a movie that didnt make any sense at all. every character was a contradiction. also teddy and jo seemed feel some feelings of love.
oh god why did i watch it i am now so upset. also retards they weren't aliens but robots.
Comment by Anonymous