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A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Widescreen Special Edition)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Widescreen Special Edition)

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Review: If a brilliant filmmaker like Stanley Kubrick couldn't figure out what do with the Brian Aldiss short story from which this film is adapted, a talented commercial hack like Steven Spielberg doesn't stand a chance. It's as if Spielberg couldn't bear to throw out any of his old friend's ideas, regardless of whether they fit into the story or not. Thus the film takes several bizarre turns; it's really three different films crammed together into one tiny space. Intriguing characters like Professor Hobby are introduced only to never be fully developed; the same with what should have been thought-provoking issues of man vs. machine and the true nature of love.

But this is a Spielberg film we're talking about, and Spielberg never let narrative flow or logic get in the way of a cool shot or clever line, so the story quickly becomes irreparably muddled. Plus it's quite obvious he (and probably Kubrick) had no idea how to end the film, so we get a bizarre and unsettlingly Oedipal sequence at the end that seems to have wandered in from another film entirely. There are several good scenes, especially in the first hour, but they don't fit together into a coherent whole. The acting is excellent across the board but if the characters have no real reason to be present it doesn't matter how good a job the actor does - Jude Law is very good as Gigolo Joe, but his part could have been cut without any loss to the plot, and the talking Teddy bear is nothing more than a plot contrivance.

It's as if Spielberg took every idea Kubrick had for this film and threw them up on the screen without working out the fine details. It's stunning visually but ultimately frustrating for its wasted potential. It doesn't follow its own internal logic. If you insist on seeing it, don't think too hard about what you're seeing or you'll start grinding your teeth.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A masterful epic
Review: I've given the buzz about 24 hours to wear off, but at this point I'm still saying to myself, "That was the best movie I've ever seen!" Honest. It was that good.

For people who watch movies the way I do, A.I. was decked in layer upon layer of dazzling symbolism and meaning. The beauty of this film, though, is that unlike some more intellectually challenging movies, it doesn't lose its entertainment value. No matter what you're in the mood for, A.I can be appreciated on many levels, from the shallow end to the deep.

The effects in A.I. are stunning, of course. But the key here is that the visuals never overpower the story, despite the fact that you may lose track of how many times you whisper "wow!" over some intricate visual perspective or special effect. Indeed, some of the scenes you would expect to be visually impressive, are--an underwater view of New York City, for instance. But Spielberg also brings out the dazzling in the everyday.

A fairly classic example of Campbell's "Hero's Journey," don't expect A.I. to be a "feel-good film." It's as disturbing and tragic as it is tender and thought-provoking. It's an emotional ride, to say the least, and it keeps the viewer guessing until the very end whether its outcome will be positive. (Will it be? You'll have to see the film.)

Through it all, Haley Joel Osment shines like the brilliant star he is. It's hard to take your eyes off his beautiful, intelligent, expressive face. I can't imagine Osment left out of the 2001 Oscar nominations, and despite what Hollywood brings us in the months ahead, I'll be cheering for him as best actor. I honestly can't see how any performance could top his work in A.I. He is possessed of a rare gift.

See A.I. No matter what you go there for--the entertainment or the intellectual stimulation--you're guaranteed to walk out shaken.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Film of Magic and Import...
Review: As has frequently been the case over the past decade or so, I was hopeful that AI would contain some of the Spielberg magic of ET and Close Encounters. The opening 30 minutes introduces you to most of the characters and the science. Well done, ...interesting, ...but little magic. The middle (Kubrick section) offers a delightful, though disturbing view of the strain between organics (humans) and robots ...visual magic takes off. The final third is Speilberg at his wonderous and magical best. An amazing and important film. One of the first intelligent glimpses of our likely not-too-distant future. Can't wait to see it again!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Really strange, yet really great
Review: This was one of the strangest Spielberg movies ever written, the writers really went all out...of their minds.

But yet it was a good story and if you pay attention and follow it closely, it does mean something...Good movie, but the word for it is definatly strange.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: too much, too little
Review: In a society which has learned to tell entire stories in 30 seconds or less, 2+ hours for this film was ? --- How to describe the tedium?; I have no movie-making skills and I could have edited this movie better.

The points to be made by the movie are interesting, and the sets and effects are masterful, but why did we have to be punished by the slow, time-drag of it all?

I liked the bear---as I left the theater I commented to my date,"I'd give a year's salary for a bear like Teddy." After thinking it over, I still would. The movie asks, "Can humans love MECHA's? Sure they can; how else would you describe the warm feelings and concern that Teddy wins from the moviegoer?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A.I = Absolutely Insane
Review: I screened A.I. on opening night at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The crowded house was packed to the rafters with as broad a spectrum of moviegoers as one could hope to assemble for a big Summer release. I mention this to emphasize that their reaction, their vocal and very unanimous response was not that of a few Kubrik fanboys or Spielberg shmoozers, but of a fairly representative slice of American Pie. I don't want to retread ground laid by other reviews, however, in light of this crowd's reaction I must agree - A.I. hung around longer than the Griswold's cousin Eddie. With the last twenty minutes Spielberg dared go where only a few wretched films have gone before; Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster comes to mind. The unanimous reaction began with much seat squirming, followed by awkward giggles, then groans of disapproval culminating with hearty laughs. Even before the credits began to roll, dozens of people stood up and shuffled for the doors. Some were talking aloud as they left - for they knew, as we all did, that the movie had indeed ended 30 minutes earlier. Then, as the screen faded for the SECOND time, some 300 people collectively groaned, booed, and even hissed at the screen. It was eerie, and a bit frightening. My buddy suggested we leave before the riot started. I agreed. The reason people were so unsettled is hard to describe, but it was spawned by two distinct things; The future-alien/robot things, and the obsessive, phycho-sexual relationship the boy has for his human mother. This obsession is resolved by a sequence so brimming with innuendo it had folks covering their eyes in disgust. To add fuel to the fire the toy teddy bear crawls into bed with them at which point the crowd erupted with a roar of comic horror. In defense of the filmmaker, I don't believe this was his intent, but it was the reaction, and it should have been. I'm not a fan of the practice of using test-audiences, but in the case of A.I. it could only have helped. In the words of the man sitting behind me, "Steven has lost his mind."

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: AI
Review: Was very confusing, I would not pay to see this movie, if we had known what it was. We almost walked out twice.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Heavy -
Review: A. I. is a seamless mix of mind crumbling questions about our own *technological* direction, and of universal human expression. Spielberg and Kubrick! I dug it!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: very sad
Review: In a mad, schizophrenic dash to be so many things, AI fails in all regards and manages not even a single one in any substantial way. A horrid, jumbled, cinematic throat gag, this movie started with such promise and simply continued to descend and unravel, managing to offend both my ethical and artistic sensibilities continually. Kubrick and Spielburg are simply too far apart in their means and ends, and the result is an abused audience that is constantly out of phase in an inconsistent and ineffectively constructed cinematic environment. The filmmakers couldn't decide what they needed to communicate, thus the plot merely nicks a plethora of morally challenging questions, but invests nothing. More telling (and far more annoying), since the plot didn't really know what it was trying to accomplish, Spielburg couldn't decide on an ending that would satisfy a purpose he apparently failed to define, and instead forced the audience to endure countless faux endings that only served to agitate. Absolutely, miserably tragic. D-

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A.I. A Bomb
Review: I wanted to see this movies bad, because hey I thought it would be a great movie. I was wrong this movie was a borring 3 hour movie. I was very bumbed that from Steven Spielberg this wasn't a better movie, the storie just felt like it was draged on, you find yourself thinking when will it end. Don't get me wrong the art in this movie was cool with the 3D art and all. That is not what makes a movie sorry to say, but after the first 10 min. of the movie you soon don't see the art side of the movie, there are some good parts, but in the end the movie felt very streched, boring, and slow... Maybe you'll like it, I didn't .


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