I've wanted to see this movie since I saw the first commercial for it. In fact, I think the first time I saw that commercial, tears welled up in my deep blue eyes. I'm that much of a baby.

It may be that when I was about 12-14 years old, I thought that I myself was an android--an imperfect representation of humanity who just wanted to be accepted for my uniqueness and loved. I didn't exactly understand my emotions, even though I had them; and I could twist my left hand off and into a grappling hook if the need ever arose. Never did. But I had the ability.

So I was predisposed to really REALLY love "A.I.", Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Stanley Kubrick's fleshed out final film. It's about a boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) who's actually an android, created to love and be a part of a family. What he wants more than anything is to be a Real Live Boy and be loved in return. After watching the two-and-a-half hour movie, there are a few thoughts I have about it:

I'm not going to give anything away in this review, because I don't want to spoil any of the beautiful twists and turns that come up in it...these are just my ideas on a few aspects of the movie.

First of all, the plot of the film itself. This is what most people will actually have the issues with. Putting together Spielberg and Kubrick is VERY ambitious, but does make for an exact fit. Like building a structure out of LEGO and Wooden Building Blocks, you will have a building that's incredible to look at, and may be a wonderful addition to toy architecture, but would have been more solid if it were made of either material instead of both.

I'm a hard-core fan of Spielberg, and even though I often admire Kubrick's vision and his filmmaking skill, I think I may be too dumb to completely grasp what he's trying to tell me. There's a fine line between mind-blowing and confusing, and I think this line that's tread and crossed in "2001" and "A Clockwork Orange" is also tread inn "A.I."....and the last 30 minutes of this movie, like "2001" will be either what completely converts you to love this flick, or completely turns you off of it forever.

It made me love it, it made my wife hate it. And even though I loved it....I think I loved it more for what it was trying to tell me than for what it actually did.

"A.I." refers back to several movies while plunging ahead on its own course: you could compare it to Pinocchio, The Wizard of Oz, A Clockwork Orange, E.T.....and there are other Biblical references and just...universal applications in there that make us feel like this movie is bigger than anything that it's comprised of.

And yet it never QUITE gets there. The Spielberg and Kubrick pieces rub against each other instead of fitting perfectly, and the transitions from one kind of movie to another can be jarring.

The acting in the movie is top-notch, most notably that of Haley Joel Osment as the robot boy, David. Having known quite a few androids in my time, he's the best there is. Better than Data from Star Trek, better than Bishop from Aliens. That he can play this artificial being that we love without becoming too cute or too artificial is remarkable....I'm hoping Osment will be a child actor who will comfortably make the seque into adulthood.

Jude Law was also good, as an android gigolo who ends up being Osment's bodyguard/guide through the dangers of the new world...but the actor I was most impressed with, and I don't know if I've ever seen her before was the actress who played David's "mom", Monica. Frances O'Connor had the task of playing both vulnerable and strict--learning to love this robot boy who comes to live with her, and then has to cope with the changes in her life. Great performance from her.

The special effects in this are absolutely amazing, and really do what effects SHOULD do. They aren't there for their own sake, but to tell the story. Spielberg isn't giving us a "look what we can do" movie like Lucas did with Freaking Jar Jar Binks....he's using technology to TELL A STORY that makes us reflect upon our own humanity. And there are several "WOW" moments, from a submerged New York City to the androids themselves to....the Moon. You'll have to see that to know what I'm getting at.

In summary, this is a very well done movie, and even though I'm it's CORE audience, I wasn't completely satisfied. I'll probably eventually own the DVD...hopefully there will be some explanations in the Special Features. It will be a movie you either love or hate, which makes it difficult to review. My wife ended up hating it. If it had ended half an hour earlier, though, she probably still would have been dissatisfied.

Well worth your time and money for the ambitious ATTEMPT at greatness alone, I think this movie will be farther reaching and remembered for more than what it does this summer.

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12