A.I. Artificial Intelligence - LetterboxD Review

Original Review Link

I still have huge reservations about the epilogue and the need (or lack of) for it. Everything up to that point is intelligent, thought provoking and at the time, original science fiction.

Excelling himself beyond his standout performance in The Sixth Sense, Haley Joel Osment is comfortably the star of the show here. Jude Law's mecha-gigolo is OK and Frances O Connor is passable enough as the mother, beyond that, in all honestly, most of the peripheral characters are either under developed, under valued / needed or just not very interesting or pleasant... With one exception of course... Teddy!

The marquee scene in the film, when Monica activates David, is the perfect example of Osment's talent. The subtle change in expression from emotionless robot to vulnerable and human child is remarkable. Those few seconds of screen time eclipsed most other child acting performances I have ever seen.

The story itself is certainly interesting and Spielberg (final act quibbles aside) generally keeps the pace up and the action interesting. By the time we arrive at a waterlogged Manhattan, it feels like we've been on a journey that has lasted for hours, even days. Manhattan first appears a short 95 minutes into the film.

The texture of the story and the morality tale at heart are also interesting concepts and while Spielberg's film making removes any doubt about his own political perspective on these issues, it generally is handled with enough ambiguity as to allow the viewer to decide how they feel about these all too potentially real issues of our futures.

I've mentioned the final act twice already and it can't be ignored because like it or not, this is the deal breaker for most people. I stuck on 4 and a half stars primarily for this very reason... While some may argue that the point of the story needs an element of resolution and this is provided by the epilogue, one can't help but think that had they ended the film at THE point immediately before the epilogue starts, that the message would have been far more powerful, that the most important part of this journey wasn't getting to the end of it and having any sense of closure, but that the strength and willpower that had been shown and ultimately the sacrifice that had been offered was in itself proof that while David wasn't physically real, his emotions, his drive and his dreams were real... real enough to sacrifice everything for.

All in all, this is one of Spielberg's more unique and original works. Despite the predictable motif of children, fairy tales and a sense of adventure, this is nothing like his other works that carry similar themes.

Permanently underrated, this is one of Spielberg's better films IMO.

I rated this movie 4 and a half stars out of 5.