Scripter/director Steven Spielberg's realization of a long-in-the-works Stanley Kubrick project is set in a future where robots are used as workers and for human companionship. A couple adopts David, the first "mecha" designed to love, as a replacement for their cryogenically frozen son. But when the boy recovers, David is abandoned and undertakes a perilous quest to become "a real boy." Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, and William Hurt star. 145 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital stereo, DTS 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: French, Spanish; featurettes; featurettes; photo gallery; theatrical trailers; interviews; more. Two-disc set.

Average Customer Review: ( 761 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

That said, A.I. is a visually spectacular, emotionally moving, and mentally arousing tale about the quest of a little, unloved robot boy programmed to love the programmer. When David is shunned by the world he was born into, he embarks in a journey of great physical, emotional, and temporal expanse to find the only thing he was ever programmed to want. While the story itself is entirley original, in essence it is a futuristic portrayal of the fairy tale Pinocchio, complete with the mysterious blue fairy. Plot aside, the movie is expertly crafted in the hands of Spielberg and his actors. Spielberg seamlessly meshes futuristic sci-fi style with fairy tale sentimentality to create a visually rich and captivating future that deserves nothing but the most earnest praise. The actors bring this world to life brilliantly, most especially Haley Joel Osment in the role of David. The weight that this role carries is astounding, something I wouldn't entrust to some of the most skilled adult actors. Yet Haley is without a doubt one of the most talented actors to grace the scene, age be damned, and he gives the role the infinite, nearly impossible justice it deserves. Rock on Hailey, rock on.

Like many viewers, I watched the last half hour through a filter of tears despite my noble efforts to restrain an emotional outburst. The last 30 minutse are so angering, heartbreaking, and beautiful, and the characters so real, that it's difficult not to feel for them. The entire movie is one emotional rollercoaster, at times terrifying, beautiful, humorous, and haunting. Certain scenes will stick with you for life.

Never before has a movie inspired so many questions about the nature of humanity, love, and reality in my mind - it had me pondering for weeks. What responsibility DO we hold to the things we create? This question, while intriguing, also serves as a subtle warning. A.I. is so epic in scope, so deep with meaning, and so rich in talent that it merits saying that anyone who dislikes this movie has failed, truly, to understand it.

47 of 52 found the following review helpful:

It's OK to dislike a good movie...Mar 19, 2002
By Chris Peters
Let's just say that AI is not the type of film that will entertain you. Provoke you, yes. Get you to think, absolutely. But not entertain. This isn't good old American escapism, it explores our human emotions deep down to its core. At the same time, it is a beautiful movie, with striking images and an amazing vision of the future, with a tight script and outstanding acting (why nobody from this film got an Oscar nom, I don't understand). It combines Kubrick's love of the bizarre with old-school Spielberg sappiness, and somehow manages to pull it all off.

The story follows the life of a robot child named David, the first robot made to love. The First Act of the film shows David introduced to his human family, and all the strange conflicts of love, jealiousy, and even repulsion that occur. These scenes are utterly chilling and creepy while being strangely sweet, and they play on our emotions just as easily as David's programmed whispers of "I love you, mommy" confuse the emotionally precarious mother. In a scene that belongs in film history, the mother finally abandons David in the woods, and he clings to the car screaming as she drives away.

In the Second Act, David joins with Gigilo Joe, and a robotic teddy bear to embark an quest, sort of like a twisted sci-fi vision of the Wizard of Oz. The Third Act catapults us 2000 years into the future, when super-robots discover David in a block of ice. While this future is beautiful and fun to explore, these story sequences aren't nearly as interesting as the first third of the film, and yet there are many many interesting throw-away shots and min-stories which can hold your attention. Spielberg consistantly blurs the difference between humans and robots, and when new characters are introduced the audience is left wondering "is its real?" for more than a few seconds. The acting performances are consistantly brilliant. Not a single bad actor in the film, to be truthful. Jude Law is unfortgetable, and Haley Osment is so good he puts adult actors to shame.

Many have said this movie is both brillant and flawed, and I can agree. There is simply too much to digest the first time you see it. Also, the pacing of the movie is all wrong, and some of the greatest climaxes come early in the film. All this makes for an excellent DVD, though! Now you can simply watch the moments that you feel like, and not sit through the entire saga.

THE DVD - is okay, but not great. Spielberg does not give audio commentaries for his movies, which is a tremendous crime for filmmakers now and in the future. The "making of" documentaries are numerous and detailed, but with a film this complex, I discovered that they simply do not tell us enough. The audio and visual quality of the DVD is excellent.

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

An Absolute Masterpiece!Feb 12, 2002
By Weather & Noise
I cannot agree with those who say this movie was terrible - I found it was an absolute delight, and I felt it melded Kubrick & Spielberg beautifully! Such a dark film, but at times it showed humanity as we cannot imagine it being, through the eyes of someone who desperately just wants to be loved - that is all. The acting was superb. Obviously thought, this film is not for everyone - it's a mental journey. It's not Clockwork, and it's not Close Encounters. It is of its own, and a beautiful vision Kubrick would have been proud of.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

A dark film... that feels like..home.Feb 09, 2002
By David Voderberg "Author, Film Maker, Critic"
This film is a Masterpiece. I have been a Kubrick fan since I first saw the Old Dave Bowman point to the Monolith and then turn into the StarChild. I get goose bumps when I watch A Clockwork Orange, and I shuttered when I saw Eyes Wide Shut, but not in a good way. So it was with mixed emotions I entered the theater to see this film. The room darkened and the movie started. I sat enthralled for 2 and a half hours. Here was a Vision I didn't think possible, and a film that restored my faith in Kubrick, and gave me new respect for Spielburg ((hey I liked Hook sue me)) The casting in this film is right on, and you identify with David ((Haley Joel Osmant)) from the first frame he enters the screen.
I have to say the defining moment of the Movie is the last half hour-45 minutes. It is such a shift that people started to get up to leave, and even I thought the film was over. But then the real message of the film comes across. ((Sorry to say guys the creatured at the end of the film are machines. David's Great great great... grandchildren... figuratively speaking))
This film gave me goose bumps. It restored my faith in two great film makers, that had made some, ((in my opinion)) clinkers. Open your mind, and be ready for the possibility. This is a true Science Fiction film. It asks questions and leaves some of them for you to answer. It was wonderful, it was horrific, it was full of messy human emotions trying to be understood by a boy who didn't have any of his own. Everyone should see this film, if nothing else then to appriciate all the feelings we can feel.

19 of 21 found the following review helpful:

A movie you can't get out of your mindMar 08, 2002
By DJW "econofire"
I can't remember a movie that stuck with me like this one does. It seems amazing that so much of what it is to be human, to be in love, and to be loved is described in this motion picture.
Frankly I don't know where the comments about this film being somehow flawed come from. Haley Osment is astounding, I can't recall any child actor putting forth a perfomance even close to this in it's span of emotions, I'm not sure more than a handful of adults could have done as well. The blending of Spielberg and Kubric is seamless to me. You will find yourself forgetting the characters are actually human actors and not mechanized.
Science Fiction should always teach a lesson that is relevent to today but told in the context of tomorrow. As such, this movie is Science Fiction at it's very best.

See all 761 customer reviews on Amazon.com