365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 341 - A.I. Artificial Intelligence

I first saw A.I. Artificial Intelligence at the Ziegfeld Movie House with my movie club friends. My primary impression was that the film was too long and seemed to go on and on. I didn't trust my judgement because for the last 30 minutes of the film I had to use the bathroom. Unfortunately I was sitting dead center and could not get up with out disturbing a lot of people, plus I thought the ending of the movie was coming soon and I didn't want to miss it. So I sat there, uncomfortably waiting for this endless movie to end.

Released on Blu-ray this month I revisited A.I. and my impression remained the same. This odd combination of a long cherished idea by Stanley Kubrick and an homage by Steven Spielberg is uneven at best. The film is too long. After viewing it again I was left me with very mixed feelings. On the one hand it is a technical triumph by a master film maker, inspired by another master craftsman that I enjoyed watching. But I felt completely unconnected to the emotional core of the film; a robot boy that wants to be real and be loved.

Haley Joel Osment gives a strong performance as the robot boy, but at no point did I believe he was a robot. Therefore I felt his desire to become a real boy and be loved in return didn't move me on an emotional level. The first part of the film, the robot being introduced to the family unit and the mother's resistance and then ultimate acceptance was all thought of by Stanley Kubrick who first conceived the story many years ago. The center part of the film, David's journey in search of the Blue Fairy and his encounter with the robot Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) was conceived and created by Spielberg. This section where obsolete robots are caught and tortured by humans who resent them was the most visually interesting, but left no emotional impact. 

The film is long, dark and sometimes boring. The ending, which takes place 2,000 years in the future felt flat and pointless. 

Should you watch A.I. Artificial Intelligence? yes. There is enough substance to make the film worthwhile to both sci-fi fans and fans of Spielberg and Kubrick. This is far from the best film Steven Spielberg ever made, but like Hitchcock, even bad Spielberg is better than most other filmmakers.

At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars