This was one of the more anticipated movies to come out this summer. Partly because of the fact that it was directed by Steven Spielberg but also partly because of the concept. It also helped that it was a Stanley Kubrick story, which have always been somewhat off beat, controversial and thought provoking. What was this reviewer's impression?
The world is heading at breakneck speed towards artificial intelligence. We've seen this for years and it's always been a goal of science to be able to bridge the organic human to the artificial human. For what purpose? To understand humanity perhaps or for financial gain or even arrogance? This movie shows what it may look like if artificial intelligence came to fruition and the affects that it may have on humanity. The story revolves around a robot boy, David (Haley Joel Osment) that his creator made in what was basically a test to see if humans could actually feel emotions towards an artificial being. What results is a journey that not only the human parents travel but David travels as well. They learn things about themselves, each other and society but in the end, it is David comes out with the most or does he?
If for nothing else, see this movie just to see Osment's performance. I saw him in `Sixth Sense' and thought he was fantastic but there was a part of me that was wondering if he could only show a minimal range of emotions, mainly fright and terror. Boy was I wrong. Osment's performance in A.I. was phenomenal. Not to knock the other actors in this movie but Osment carried this film, which is quite a task if you think about it. Most films usually have 2 or more ADULT actors that share the load, typically a protagonist and an antagonist but this movie really revolved around Osment's character and his experiences as an artificial intelligence. He showed a tremendous range and surprised me quite a few times, leaving me amazed at how talented he is at such a young age. The only thing that I hope does not happen is that he burns out before he reaches 18 or that he succumbs to the temptations of fame like alcohol or drugs but seeing the level of maturity that he exhibits on interviews, I don't think this will happen. Jude Law is also quite good in this movie but Osment overshadows him quite often. Law's character is thought provoking though when you think about the occupation that his character has (male escort).
However, there is a very heavy `Pinocchio' element to this movie, partly because the story weaves itself with the fairy tale but also because of the nature of the story. In a way, I didn't really like it, as it just seemed to me at certain points that this was just an updated/futuristic version of the fairy tale, maybe even lacking in creativity. The movie was long and the ending I thought was a bit over done. There was a certain point that I thought would have been a fantastic way to end the movie but it would have meant that Hollywood would have to break one of it's cardinal rules; having a happy ending. This seems to be a big crutch that Hollywood seems to lean on and I'm willing to bet that there would be a bigger appreciation for movies if they stepped out of those restraints once in a while and had a controversial or sad ending. The ending in this movie seemed to well wrapped it and showed that Hollywood had a big say in how it `should' end and not how the story was `supposed' to end.
Overall, see this movie just to see the kid act. It is a bit long and a little weird but you should find it thought engaging nonetheless.
The world is heading at breakneck speed towards artificial intelligence. We've seen this for years and it's always been a goal of science to be able to bridge the organic human to the artificial human. For what purpose? To understand humanity perhaps or for financial gain or even arrogance? This movie shows what it may look like if artificial intelligence came to fruition and the affects that it may have on humanity. The story revolves around a robot boy, David (Haley Joel Osment) that his creator made in what was basically a test to see if humans could actually feel emotions towards an artificial being. What results is a journey that not only the human parents travel but David travels as well. They learn things about themselves, each other and society but in the end, it is David comes out with the most or does he?
If for nothing else, see this movie just to see Osment's performance. I saw him in `Sixth Sense' and thought he was fantastic but there was a part of me that was wondering if he could only show a minimal range of emotions, mainly fright and terror. Boy was I wrong. Osment's performance in A.I. was phenomenal. Not to knock the other actors in this movie but Osment carried this film, which is quite a task if you think about it. Most films usually have 2 or more ADULT actors that share the load, typically a protagonist and an antagonist but this movie really revolved around Osment's character and his experiences as an artificial intelligence. He showed a tremendous range and surprised me quite a few times, leaving me amazed at how talented he is at such a young age. The only thing that I hope does not happen is that he burns out before he reaches 18 or that he succumbs to the temptations of fame like alcohol or drugs but seeing the level of maturity that he exhibits on interviews, I don't think this will happen. Jude Law is also quite good in this movie but Osment overshadows him quite often. Law's character is thought provoking though when you think about the occupation that his character has (male escort).
However, there is a very heavy `Pinocchio' element to this movie, partly because the story weaves itself with the fairy tale but also because of the nature of the story. In a way, I didn't really like it, as it just seemed to me at certain points that this was just an updated/futuristic version of the fairy tale, maybe even lacking in creativity. The movie was long and the ending I thought was a bit over done. There was a certain point that I thought would have been a fantastic way to end the movie but it would have meant that Hollywood would have to break one of it's cardinal rules; having a happy ending. This seems to be a big crutch that Hollywood seems to lean on and I'm willing to bet that there would be a bigger appreciation for movies if they stepped out of those restraints once in a while and had a controversial or sad ending. The ending in this movie seemed to well wrapped it and showed that Hollywood had a big say in how it `should' end and not how the story was `supposed' to end.
Overall, see this movie just to see the kid act. It is a bit long and a little weird but you should find it thought engaging nonetheless.