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A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Movie: 9/10
There are few people who do not know about this movie. Taken over by Steven Spielberg after Stanley Kubrick's death, A.I. was being discussed between the two men for nearly 15-20 years. Towards the end of their discussions, Kubrick had decided that Spielberg was the one to direct the film, not himself like previously planned. (Personally, I think I would have enjoyed Kubrick's version more, but this version is better than nothing.)
Based off the short story, "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long", Kubrick and Spielberg developed a plot, which takes place in the future and revolves around a small Mecha (or robot) named David (Haley Joel Osment). The world has become flooded after global warming and now people must have government permission in order to have children. Mechas, which consume no resources, have become the new fad for butlers, sex toys, and even replacement children. David is the first of his kind, he is a child who has been programmed to love. Adopted by the Swintons, David quickly adapts to loving his parents (Frances O' Connor and Sam Robarts), however, when their natural son, Martin, is cured of a physical ailment, problems begin to occur. Martin is a little bastard and basically the two boys compete for the parent's attention. Of course, the parents find it easy to shun David being that he is a robot. David finds himself dumped by his family in a cruel new world. He seeks Pinocchio's "blue fairy" to make him a real boy so his parents will love him. This is where the second half picks up. David meets up with Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), a sex robot who is currently on the run from the police following an incident with one of his clients. He and David develop a kinship when they are captured by a futuristic carnival called the "Flesh Fair", which destroys robots. Joe and David decide to go find the blue fairy.
Spielberg does a really decent job with this flick, it was one of my favorites of 2001. However, I found at times it was too cheerful and followed the Pinocchio story too closely. Kubrick could have made this a lot darker (which it becomes once Gigolo Joe is introduced and the Flesh Fair occurs). I liked the rumored idea of making David's psuedo-mom an alcoholic and not knowing how to deal with David and Martin. The film also drags towards the end and becomes overly sentimental. It should have ended about 20 minutes earlier on a darker note, but it's still a decent ending. Very well crafted, I love Jude Law's performance. Osment is always quite good, but he kind of freaked me out in this part. I don't know if it's because he was really good or just not right. I loved the movie overall though... Good stuff! The special effects look great too!
Video: 8/10
A little disappointed with this. You can notice some grain. Everything else looks decent and the NYC footage remains unedited. I am reviewing the widescreen version by the way. Anamorphic widescreen.
Audio: 9/10
Very well done. DTS and 5.1, clean and clear all around. The score comes out nicely too.
Extras: 8/10
Loaded fairly well with short documentaries from everything involving special effects, music, acting, and the movie itself. I wish someone would have done a commentary though. Also, they should have covered the whole internet game thing, that would have made a nice documentary. I also missed the TV spots and other promos. We have trailers, storyboards, and photos, but I wanted some TV spots for some reason. (I really liked some of them.) DO A COMMENTARY SPIELBERG! Jan Harlan? Someone? At least the short story could have been on this disc!
Overall: 8/10
Well done flick, decent transfers, and good extras. Could have had a bit more though!
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