Review of A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) by Howard B — 20 Jan 2016

It would have been lovely if this had been remembered as the fascinating tale of a robotic boy programmed with undying love a human mother in place of her real son who is locked in a seemingly terminal coma.

Instead it is known as the controversial book adaptation which Spielberg finished in Kubrick's place after Kubrick's many attempts to get the project off the ground and his eventual death. As a Spielberg film, this is one of his most artistic and emotionally connected works, only falling short in the hypothetical what-could-have-been-with-Kubrick comparison, which is rather unfair.

The story interestingly moves from the setting of a human mother having trouble accepting a robotic son to their bonding more from the mother's loneliness than actual love. Events really begins however, when the human son returns and the robot is rejected and abandoned in the woods, desperate to make himself a real boy so as to regain his mother's love.

Many twists and turns follow in which we are given small snippets of a world where robots have become common but also hated for their replacing of humanity. This world is unfortunately painted in individual settings that don't seem to mold to create a coherent sense of reality.

From the comfortable home life, to a hillbilly-esk show where robots are tortured, to a vast brothel city where robots do the pleasing, it seems hard to really get a grasp of what this world's attitudes really are and therefore the actual sense of peril.

This is ultimately the films biggest weakness. Conceptually it is full of fantastic ideas about the meaning of humanity, but fails to portray a believable reality. It's strength lies in the portrayal of it's lead however and surely a contender for the best child performance in a film of all time.

David's journey as a robot boy is demonstrated with a wonderfully personal and believable touch. A.I. ultimately therefore, is a unique and fascinating journey with enough concept to keep a viewer hooked, but how rewarded you are by the final product may come down to how you feel the central narrative of a story like this "should" end: The point most people disagreed on.

You certainly should watch and find out none-the-less though.