A. I.
I had been eagerly anticipating this movie ever since I heard it was being made. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I am so disappointed with it.
The combination of Stanley Kubrick's dark, deep style, and Stephen Spielberg's cotton-candy sweetness did not mix very well, in my opinion. It felt as if we were witnessing the two of them sitting around a campfire playing that game where one person starts a story, then the next person adds a chapter before passing it back to the first, who adds yet another chapter... on and on. In this case, the effect was kind of a maudlin sweetness with an underlying darkness that did nothing to add to the audience's enjoyment.
The film can best be described as a faithful adaptation of the original Pinochio story, the dark tale that it was before Disney sweetened it up like all the rest. In this tale, bad, heartbreaking things happen to a little robot, whom we are made to feel is actually like a little boy. At one point, as he is being left to fend for himself, his "mother" says "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the world."
One woman in the audience said she had a lump in her throat for the whole movie. And it is a long movie... A.I. goes on another twenty minutes beyond what would have made a logical, albeit somewhat unsatisfying ending. Instead, we are treated to an ending that would seem to be entirely Mr. Kubrick's vision, with shades of scenes from 2001 A Space Odyssey (But by comparison, I loved 2001!)
There are aliens, robots, futuristic cities, hints of sex, and a dying earth. But all of that is not enough to make this into an enjoyable sci-fi flick. One member of the audience uttered the following declaration as he left the theater... "That was a tedious suckfest of sucky suckiness." One man's opinion, but I do not think he was alone in it.
Ultimately, I may rent this again in a few years to see if my opinion changes. But there is no reason to spend the $8 bucks to see it in a theater. You can wait for the video. I can't help but think, as well intentioned as it was, the film would have been better if it was either wholly Spielburg or Kubrick, but not the mismatched combination of the two.
No chills, 3 skulls for messing with your emotions, and three eyeballs because it is worth seeing someday, just don't expect a masterpiece.
