"A.I.: Artificial Intelligence"
It's the time of mankind's distant future and all the worries and concerns over global warming have come to a disastrous head. Much of Earth is underwater and the governments have restricted the allowed human birthrate. Robotics has taken a quantum leap in development and man has created a replicant that can love. But, has man gone too far playing God? Find out in Steven Spielberg's long awaited "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence."
There has been a hush, for months, over details about Spielberg's involvement in what had been a longtime Stanley Kubrick project. The reclusive Kubrick was taken by the concepts introduced in the 1969 sci-fi short story by Brian Aldiss, Super Toys Last All Summer Long, and had been developing his film treatment for some time prior to his death last year. Friend and colleague Spielberg took over the mantle of the production, developing the screenplay (from the screen story by Ian Watson) and directing the effort. What we get is a mix of intents as the helmer tries to be true to Kubrick's vision while deriving many parts of the film from his own (Spielberg's) body of work.
A little boy, the son of Monica and Henry Swinton (Frances O'Connor and Sam Robards), is in a coma and there is little hope that he'll awaken. Monica is despondent and growing increasingly withdrawn, forcing Henry to act quickly and decisively. A brilliant robotics professor, Allen Hobby, has developed his theory that robots, or Mechas, can be made to love and Henry gets the first model, named David (Halley Joel Osment). When David is brought into the Swinton household, Monica greats him with a scared reluctance. As she grows used to the robo-boy, she invokes the imprint that triggers his program to love. A semblance of normalcy comes back to their home and all is well - for a while.
The miracle of modern science eventually finds a cure for the Swinton's son, Martin (Jake Thomas), and he returns as the family alpha boy. While Monica treats David as a real child, Martin understands that the Mecha is little more than a super toy. The wily Martin soon figures out how to confuse David into doing things he shouldn't, making his parents think that the little robot is a danger to the family. Monica, instead of returning David to the factory for destruction, decides the best course is to abandon the boy in a spooky forest to fend for himself.
Part two of the tale shifts from family life to survival as David searches for the one thing that he real wants - to be a real boy. This "Pinocchio" theme drives David into the scrap heap world of discarded robots. He meets Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), a pleasure Mecha that can be anything a woman (and, presumably, a man) wants him to be. Joe is very cool and takes David under his wing. This part turns into a world straight out of "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" where robots, instead of men, are ravaged for public entertainment. The final leg of David's journey takes on religious overtones of resurrection and spiritual freedom as the little boy 'bot finds "himself."
"A.I." is a complex film that strives to say a great deal. Messages of love, loyalty, friendship and more are coupled with David's relentless search, after his abandonment, for the Blue Fairy, who will change him into a flesh and blood boy. Joining him in his quest is a present given by his mom, a robotic bear named Teddy, as the stand-in for Jiminy Cricket. The constant "Pinocchio" references and David's continued pleas to be a real boy gives the film a derivative, rather than original, feel.
The F/X that animate Teddy and the rest of the robots (by Stan Winston Studios) are very slick, as one can only expect in a Steven Spielberg movie. But, as with "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "A.I." gets too full of itself and meaningfully meanders along, first in one direction, then another until the until we get to the spiritually satisfying (for Spielberg) end. For me, by the time the film was over, I had simply had enough.
Robot movies have been around since "Metropolis" and the robot-with-feelings concept has been with us from as far back as "Pinocchio" - if you take that fairytale as a kind of low-tech robot story. The idea also spawned such flicks as "Short Circuit," "Terminator 2" and, one of my favorites, "Android," with Klaus Kinski chewing the scenery with gusto. "A.I." represents a highbrow entry into the genre, with Spielberg's typical rank sentimentality at its core.
On the acting front, the film belongs to young Osment, who is the single point of focus throughout this unnecessarily long flick. Haley Joel is a talented kid and does his best, building on the emotions that David develops over time, but there is little arc to the development of the character. Jude Law, in his limited time on screen, steals the show as the sexy, pleasure-oriented Joe. With a hint of plasticity to his makeup, giving him an artificial look, and his hip dance moves, the robotic gigolo seems to be having a grand time. Brendan Gleeson offers little to his character, Lord Johnson-Johnson, a kind of robotic gladiator owner/manager. O'Connor, as the confused mom, is fine, but the rest of the cast, including Robards and Hurt, are filling space and marking time.
Production values are commensurate with the obviously large budget that Spielberg and company had to play with. Frequent Spielberg cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski provides his deft camera talents effectively to the challenging variety of film moods. John Williams does not, for once, intrude his musical interpretations on the film, but you don't get anything like the "Jaws" theme song either. Production design, by Rick Carter, comes out of Spielberg's own body of work and others with direct takes from "E.T.," "Close Encounters" and "Jaws," as well as the aforementioned "Mad Max 3" and, frequently, "The Wizard of Oz."
"A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" is an anticipated event film that fails to meet expectations. It's too long, by 20 minutes or more, and the story meanders far too much to keep the viewer's interest. I give it a B-.
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