Film: A.I. - Artificial Intelligence

[Banquo]

is there anyone else who liked this film? the consensus among the average film-goer seems to be that AI sucked. i thought it did a great job of hitting the what-does-it-mean-to-be-human button, and maybe it's because this topic is personally interesting to me that i liked it more than other people.

the exposition and division of acts was also neat. there is sequence one -- with David living with his adopted family, sequence two -- the search, and sequence three -- the distant future. the first act was abnormally long, and it set up a very detailed context which extends beyond the storyline, making the subject matter deeper, imo. any thoughts i why many people didn't like this movie?

 

[Banquo]

poll added %)

 

[drEaMtiMe*@#]

yeah i really enjoyed this film too. especially the way that it tackles the subject matter of what it is that makes us human; is there more to it that defines us than our the ability to feel? and if so, what is it?

i found it a really interesting movie to watch particularlly because of the way that it makes you think and question yourself.

this was stanley kubricks last film too. well, it was an idea that he had for a movie that had inspired him for over 15 years, which was then ultimately brought to screen by speilberg.

 

[L2R]

I thoroughly enjoy this film. It's not perfect, but it's very, very good.

As i've stated previously, with no exaggeration, close to all the people that I've discussed this film with do not like it, but then they also think that the creatures in the end were aliens, which doesn't make much sense.
When i tell them that they are robots, they change their tune to give it another chance. Whether they actually do or not, i have no idea.

 

[Banquo]

it took me a while to figure out that the creatures were robots also. i believe prototypes of the advanced robots seen at the end are visible when David is in William Hurt's lab and at one other point.

also, most people are of the opinion that Spielberg tacked on the ending where David meets his mother. this is not true, as the storyline had been in Kubrick's notes for some time.

still, i've given up on trying to sell people on this movie. i'm just curious as to what people can cite, specifically, that turns them off about this film.

 

[silvia saint]

any thoughts i why many people didn't like this movie?

probably the ending. i really liked the film but it would have been cooler to end with the blue fairy scene instead of the happy ending, which slightly diluted the impact of everything prior to it, for myself anyway.

 

[L2R]

Banquo, the robots at the end all had screens for faces. During the anti-technology rally, there is an antiquated model with an old man face projected on a screen on it's face plate. Linking the two, I found the end obvious first time through, so I never experience the common disappointment in the third act.
Oh actually one other thing that made supported the connection from past to future is Gigalo Joe's advise to David. Something along the lines of: Humans will never accept you, because in the end there will be only robots.

But i think SS is right, without thought on the future of robots, the ending would've seemed like an unbelievably cheesy inserted happy ending for the younger audience and therefore yawnfests for everyone else.

 

[silvia saint]

^^^
yeah. i understand there is a point to the ending in relation to the story, hence it's inclusion, but i think cutting it where i mentioned would have made for a much tighter albeit depressing film, and a better film as a whole. the ending could have been carried out much better and in half the time it took.

it's not hard to see why the advanced mecha are confused with aliens (i did at first, because i only watched it once and was probably intoxicated) considering their shape and the fact spielberg has a hard on for ufology. he's probably aware that many ufologists conclude from abductee reports that the stereotypical greys may in fact be some sort of bio-mechanical entity because of the way they interact with their victim/subject, showing little to no emotion, empathy, or sympathy other than what is necessary to carry out their objective.

 

[ChemicalBeauty]

Two stars from me

 

[MDPVagrant]

is there anyone else who liked this film?[/IMG]

Yes, I liked it. However, I did not love it. Way too many endings, for one (if ya know what I mean). Ditto on "should have ended at the Blue Fairy" scene, as well as the fact that I never mistook the advanced robots for aliens.

P.S. IMO as a film it is a bit dry, definitely more Kubrick than Spielberg overall. I tend to believe a lot of people who disliked it would feel the same about many of Kubrick's works.

 

[drews_secret]

I actually liked that movie, I own it.
On rainy days that is one of the movies in my stack that I watch..

 

[DigitalDuality]

the movie was done well... until the ending, overall a great story, decent effects.. but i just get irritated with typical Spielberg's endings. I don't care who wrote the ending, it just has a stereotypical feel for spielberg and it's just played out.

 

[BodhiSvaha33]

P.S. IMO as a film it is a bit dry, definitely more Kubrick than Spielberg overall. I tend to believe a lot of people who disliked it would feel the same about many of Kubrick's works.

Couldn't disagree more. This movie was filled with Spielberg's ham-handed emotional button-pushing. I think Kubrick is by far the greatest director in the history of cinema, and probably a big part of the reason I did not like A.I. is that I expected it to be more like one of his movies. Kubrick was an artist. Spielberg is just a very successful hack.

 

[Raving Loony]

The last half of the film was so boring. At least the first had the Kubrik-esk touch to it.