Forgive me if at some point during this review, you feel as if you are reading James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake, or notice that I must be writing in stream of consciousness, but I cannot help but attempt to do justice to AI as best I can. There are innumerable aspects of this film that are nothing short of ground-breaking, and each twist and turn left me staring at the screen wanting more and more. I will do my best to structure this review as best I can, but I make no promises ;)
The basic plot...
Human civilization has grown to cope with global warming, and the insuing flooding of all coastlines. As a form of population control, many parents are not allowed to have children, and Artificial Intelligence is a growing science. A certain group of scientists attempts to design AI that can experience love, and the result is hopeful, catastrophic, and intriguing at the same time. The young ’’mecha’’ (which stands for mechanical, distinguished from ’’orga’’ which describes the organic people in the world) is disowned my his ’’parents’’ and spends the majority of the remainder of the movie searching for the Blue Fairy who can make him a real boy, just as she did in the fairy tail ’’Pinocchio, ’’ a story that he was read to by his ’’mother’’. He believes that if he turns into a real boy, his mother will love him and take him back.
On his journey, he meets up with a variety of pitfalls and setbacks. Accompanied by his super toy ’’Teddy’’ (a walking, talking, robot bear that is in itself a more primitive form of AI) Harry (played by Osment) is saved from certain death at the hands of a Flesh Fair. His realistic emotions were enough to save him from a mob of angry humans, but not enough to make him a real boy. He meets up with a MECHA-pimp, played by Jude Law who helps him along his journey, which eventually leads him to MANhattan (the supposed end of the world city that is off limits to Mecha) and is reunited with his creator. There my friends, is where the movie gets intense and very very philosophical. I will not ruin the ending, but once Harry reaches Manhattan, things get very twisted, but good. The big things that stand out...
1)Directing: Granted, I am already a little biased toward Kubrick and Speilberg, but even given that fact, this movie has superb directing. Only the most knowledgeable film student could determine where Kubrick ends and Speilberg begins. The resulting mesh of genius is one of the better directing performances in recent history.
2)Special effects/makeup: There are times when you will not believe you are watching what you are watching. Plain and simple, the effects are awe-inspiring, and unparalelled in my opinion. I have never seen such perfect attention to detail and any words I can say would never give worthy description of AI’s special effects.
3)Haley Joel Osment: I swear, if that kid doesn’t win best actor, I will personally give a visit to the Academy and speak my peace. His portrayal of AI, with feelings, emotions, desires, fear, and everything is incredible. There may never be another performance as groudbreaking as Osment’s, and I feel confident that there will not be a better one this year at all.
The little things that stand out...
1) Surprise cameos: There are two separate ’’cameos’’ in this movie. Now, there is a possibility that I could be wrong, but I am almost certain that
a) Chris Rock is the voice of an about-to-be-destroyed MECHA and
b) Robin Williams is the voice of Dr. Know, a computer with all the answers.
2) Quirky comedy: Nothing much to explain here, except to say that oftentimes, I found myself laughing but feeling sad emotions simultaneously. Similar to some of the comedy in Cast Away, AI will make you laugh as well.
3) Fairy Tale appeal: Forget that Harry is on a journey to find the Blue Fairy from ’’Pinocchio’’. Never mind that the whole movie is set in the future. There is something about this movie that has rarely been achieved in the history of film. Labynryth, Never Ending Story, and similar movies achieved this quality, but no movie on record achieves it as well as AI. ’Nough said.
4) Just see if Harry blinks....
5) Teddy: If it were possible to have a robot character win best supporting actor, Teddy would have it hands down. He provides inspiration, motivation, comic relief, and this childlike innocence that is both precious and saddening at the same time.
Basically, this movie is honestly the best I have seen, and it will be some time before another movie rivals it for the top of my personal list. I didn’t go into the hundreds of deep discussions that can be taken from this movie because those are for you to find on your own. I recommend that you see this movie numerous times because there is no way to take it all in at once. The ending may be long for some, but in my opinion, there is not a single line that need be taken out of this movie, for each of them means something above us all. This film poses thousands of questions, while leaving us to answer the more important ones ourselves. I strongly recommend this movie for everyone. Perhaps you too will believe in fairy tales when all is said and done. ~Thanks