Subject: Review: A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

From: "Robin Clifford" <[email-masked]>
Date: 23 Jun 2001 02:32:07 GMT

"A.I.: Artificial Intelligence"

It's the time of mankind's distant future and all the worries and concerns
over global warming have come to a disastrous head. Much of Earth is
underwater and the governments have restricted the allowed human birthrate.
Robotics has taken a quantum leap in development and man has created a
replicant that can love. But, has man gone too far playing God? Find out in
Steven Spielberg's long awaited "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence."

There has been a hush, for months, over details about Spielberg's
involvement in what had been a longtime Stanley Kubrick project. The
reclusive Kubrick was taken by the concepts introduced in the 1969 sci-fi
short story by Brian Aldiss, Super Toys Last All Summer Long, and had been
developing his film treatment for some time prior to his death last year.
Friend and colleague Spielberg took over the mantle of the production,
developing the screenplay (from the screen story by Ian Watson) and
directing the effort. What we get is a mix of intents as the helmer tries
to be true to Kubrick's vision while deriving many parts of the film from
his own (Spielberg's) body of work.

A little boy, the son of Monica and Henry Swinton (Frances O'Connor and Sam
Robards), is in a coma and there is little hope that he'll awaken. Monica
is despondent and growing increasingly withdrawn, forcing Henry to act
quickly and decisively. A brilliant robotics professor, Allen Hobby, has
developed his theory that robots, or Mechas, can be made to love and Henry
gets the first model, named David (Halley Joel Osment). When David is
brought into the Swinton household, Monica greats him with a scared
reluctance. As she grows used to the robo-boy, she invokes the imprint that
triggers his program to love. A semblance of normalcy comes back to their
home and all is well - for a while.

The miracle of modern science eventually finds a cure for the Swinton's
son, Martin (Jake Thomas), and he returns as the family alpha boy. While
Monica treats David as a real child, Martin understands that the Mecha is
little more than a super toy. The wily Martin soon figures out how to
confuse David into doing things he shouldn't, making his parents think that
the little robot is a danger to the family. Monica, instead of returning
David to the factory for destruction, decides the best course is to abandon
the boy in a spooky forest to fend for himself.

Part two of the tale shifts from family life to survival as David searches
for the one thing that he real wants - to be a real boy. This "Pinocchio"
theme drives David into the scrap heap world of discarded robots. He meets
Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), a pleasure Mecha that can be anything a woman (and,
presumably, a man) wants him to be. Joe is very cool and takes David under
his wing. This part turns into a world straight out of "Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome" where robots, instead of men, are ravaged for public
entertainment. The final leg of David's journey takes on religious
overtones of resurrection and spiritual freedom as the little boy 'bot
finds "himself."

"A.I." is a complex film that strives to say a great deal. Messages of
love, loyalty, friendship and more are coupled with David's relentless
search, after his abandonment, for the Blue Fairy, who will change him into
a flesh and blood boy. Joining him in his quest is a present given by his
mom, a robotic bear named Teddy, as the stand-in for Jiminy Cricket. The
constant "Pinocchio" references and David's continued pleas to be a real
boy gives the film a derivative, rather than original, feel.

The F/X that animate Teddy and the rest of the robots (by Stan Winston
Studios) are very slick, as one can only expect in a Steven Spielberg
movie. But, as with "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "A.I." gets too
full of itself and meaningfully meanders along, first in one direction,
then another until the until we get to the spiritually satisfying (for
Spielberg) end. For me, by the time the film was over, I had simply had
enough.

Robot movies have been around since "Metropolis" and the
robot-with-feelings concept has been with us from as far back as
"Pinocchio" - if you take that fairytale as a kind of low-tech robot story.
The idea also spawned such flicks as "Short Circuit," "Terminator 2" and,
one of my favorites, "Android," with Klaus Kinski chewing the scenery with
gusto. "A.I." represents a highbrow entry into the genre, with Spielberg's
typical rank sentimentality at its core.

On the acting front, the film belongs to young Osment, who is the single
point of focus throughout this unnecessarily long flick. Haley Joel is a
talented kid and does his best, building on the emotions that David
develops over time, but there is little arc to the development of the
character. Jude Law, in his limited time on screen, steals the show as the
sexy, pleasure-oriented Joe. With a hint of plasticity to his makeup,
giving him an artificial look, and his hip dance moves, the robotic gigolo
seems to be having a grand time. Brendan Gleeson offers little to his
character, Lord Johnson-Johnson, a kind of robotic gladiator owner/manager.
O'Connor, as the confused mom, is fine, but the rest of the cast, including
Robards and Hurt, are filling space and marking time.

Production values are commensurate with the obviously large budget that
Spielberg and company had to play with. Frequent Spielberg cinematographer,
Janusz Kaminski provides his deft camera talents effectively to the
challenging variety of film moods. John Williams does not, for once,
intrude his musical interpretations on the film, but you don't get anything
like the "Jaws" theme song either. Production design, by Rick Carter, comes
out of Spielberg's own body of work and others with direct takes from
"E.T.," "Close Encounters" and "Jaws," as well as the aforementioned "Mad
Max 3" and, frequently, "The Wizard of Oz."

"A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" is an anticipated event film that fails to
meet expectations. It's too long, by 20 minutes or more, and the story
meanders far too much to keep the viewer's interest. I give it a B-.

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