Review of A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) by Shanes. — 14 Aug 2006

I'm a bit surprised, actually, by all the negative ratings this film has gotten. I disagree, though, because this film is great with three things. [***SPOILERS***] It pushes the imagination in a very uncomfortable way.

That is, it actually distorts the modern happy ending and hands it an undertone of depressing creepiness, and it does it for a good reason. It speaks volumes of whether or not love is an exclusively human thing.

And lastly, it's a subtle examination of modern evolutionary theory, expecting in its efforts to say "humans' time will eventually end on this planet." The ending scene is necessary for that reason, and without it the film would not really have a point.

With these long endings, though, where the first fade-out tricks you into believing it actually ends at a certain point, people get a little angry and flabberghasted that they didn't get to leave the theatres that much earlier.