Posted by Dan Ewert : 7/21/2002 02:28:00 AM (Archive Link)
I just finsihed watching AI: Artificial Intelligence for the first time. I didn’t like it all that much. The special effects were great and the overall concept was compelling, but it was just too Spielbergian for me. I would have preferred a little more Kubrick to keep the darker themes alive. For me, the main points involve whether or not a machine can possess real emotions and conciousness, and the inevitable conflicts between highly advanced androids and humans. The film deals with the themes here and there but ultimately veers off into territory that could have been have covered by a Lifetime movie of the week as the protagonist tries to win his “mother’s” love. This made the “second” ending to the movie absolutely hideous because it’s so insipid and sugar coated. If you’re a diabetic, you should leave before this part. Kubrick, of course, would have left the kid stuck in the ice and ended the movie that way. It would have better and shorter. Ummm… I hope I didn’t give anything away with that last part.

I don’t want to spoil anything (more anyway), but for me, the best scene was Chris Rock’s brief voiceover.