Review of A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) by Spangle — 07 Aug 2014

This one took me a bit to get into as the first half is just not that good. It is necessary, but not interesting in the least. However, the second half really knocks it out of the park and leaves you with tears in your eyes for practically the entire final 20 minutes.

Now, the ending is a little sentimental, but the film gets points for not going as sentimental as I thought it could have, so thank God for that. Haley Joel Osment is a revelation in the lead role and absolutely kills it.

This film rests on his shoulders and the fact that he, at age 13, handles that burden this well and performs the way he did is stunningly impressive. The direction from Stephen Spielberg is also strong, though I would have loved to see Stanley Kubrick's take on this film, as I do think Kubrick would have done better with the materials he was given, not to say Spielberg did poorly.

While the effects are great and the cinematography gorgeous, the real strength of this one is the pathos and pure child-like magic that really touches your heart. Without it, this one would be entirely lackluster.

The ending goes on for a bit too long, but is actually filled with a lot more questions than initially meets the eye. At the end of the day, A.I. is an interesting film that is a success due to the emotions it provokes and how it utilizes its fantasy elements.