Why didn't you like A.I. Artificial Intelligence?

[mithrandir2001]

I just saw A.I. on DVD last night. (Yes, I know I'm on a different schedule than everyone else.)

I put off seeing A.I. because I remember reading a lot of negative comments about the film. However, I personally thought it was great and while it wasn't Spielberg's best, it was a very involving film. I had to hold back tears at several points. Perhaps I fell for the typical Spielbergian sentimentalism but I was really interested in the story, the characters and some of the philosophical questions raised. The ending wasn't nearly as awful as I had feared and contrary to many I wished the film hadn't ended. Sure, A.I. occasionally moved at a glacial pace but I was never bored.

The biggest disappointment was the Flesh World segment. It came across as rather conventional and an awkward step down from the rest of the A.I.'s visual wonder. But overall A.I. struck me as a lovingly-made picture, rarely rushed and obviously made by a master filmmaker with a large budget at his disposal. I'm not sure why so many people hated this film.

 

[Legendary]

They should've ended it at the certain point before they continued it.
I will not ruin it but if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about.

 

[Martin]

i hate sentimentalism or almost every kind...the movie was long and boring....

It was an average movie...not bad...not good...

 

[Wallydraigle]

I kind of liked it actually. Parts were a little boring but nothing too bad.

 

[kgraeme]

I despise children.

 

[alareau]

i found it way too long and boring, very slow paced, and don't get me started on the last 30 mins.

Best part of that movie was jude law as the gigolo dude

 

[flavio]

Another A.I. thread? I liked it, but they took it in a direction that didn't just right. I was actually really into it while he still lived with the family then they took the movie on a couple questionable turns. Still good though....just could've been better.

 

[HappyPuppy]

I forced myself to sit half way through it before I couldn't take it any more. I shut the TV off and went to bed.

 

[Yzzim]

I thought the movie lacked a sense of direction. Wasn't sure where the movie was actually going until about 3/4s of the way through.

Could have been a lot better than it actually was.

 

[Azraele]

I didn't catch the beginning, but the end was depressing.

 

[HendrixFan]

I thought AI was an excellent movie, and it was a good idea by Kubrick to allow Speilberg to finish it. Kubrick had done the script and most of the storyboards, and that is quite obvious from watching the movie. I think Speilberg followed the storyboards pretty faithfully, alot of the shots looked framed by Kubrick. I think he took a little personal liberty with zooms and filters, but that gives it a "joint effort" type of feel.

The emotions the movie creates are indeed strong, which actually ties into the very point of the movie. The much maligned ending was actually what Kubrick wanted, and I dont really find it to be "happy". I think there are too many conflicting emotions at the end to be happy, but it certainly was a good ending. The people who say the movie should have ended before the last act basically want a depressing go-nowhere ending. If it ends there, it doesnt really draw a solid point, but rather ends with gloom just for the sake of ending with gloom. The last act is what ties everything together and drives home the point of the movie. Its a homerun.

I think that as time passes, people will see how good of a movie it is. 2001 and Clockwork Orange were both underappreciated when released, but have withstood the test of time.

 

[XMan]

Were the dudes at the end aliens or mecha?

I don't know, I just felt like the whole thing was a waste of time . . . I dunno. Nothing really was resolved from beginning to end, other than the fact that the little robot finally got the Mariah Carey look-alike to admit she loved him.

 

[HendrixFan]

They were mecha at the end. But the fact that you werent certain whether or not they were robots or "real" creatures is the exact question that is supposed to take place, further driving home the point of the movie.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I liked parts of the movie. I am used to seeing direct relationships or literal type stuff when I watch a movie (different than books ). I think the ending was depressing which is probably what the makers wanted. It had a lot of feeling to it, but I'd rather see humor or leave the theater in good spirits. I can hardly remember any lines in the movie, though it has been a while since i watched it.

 

[Keego]

Never seen it.

 

[TNTrulez]

It was utterly boring especially the last part.

 

[KthxBye]

I had more or less the same complaint about AI as I did about Minority Report: The ending. Speilberg takes a dark, Orwellian, cautionary movie, and ends it like E.T. If AI had ended with the kid in the submarine (you know, just before the "2000 years passed" narration) the movie would have been much more powerful. If minority report had ended with the scene where the Tom Cruise character is suspended in the vault, that movie would have had much more impact to it. But no, despite the swelling music, and pullaway shot, these scenes are not the end, and there's half an hour to go before everything turns out alright. NOTE: 1984 did not end happily, A clockwork Orange did not end happily (In the American release that is). The whole point of the movie is compromised by everything turning out fine.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

I liked it.

 

[Moonbeam]

I found the movie rather disturbing. It raised philosophical questions about machines and programming and emotion, but it seems that few turn the implications inward. We are machines. We are bound by programming to love. Are we slaves to our program or do we in any way transcend it.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I didn't think that the ending had everything turning out fine. At least not on a psychological level. I didn't like 2001 either, nor eyes wide shut.

 

[Linux23]

Originally posted by: KthxBye
I had more or less the same complaint about AI as I did about Minority Report: The ending. Speilberg takes a dark, Orwellian, cautionary movie, and ends it like E.T. If AI had ended with the kid in the submarine (you know, just before the "2000 years passed" narration) the movie would have been much more powerful. If minority report had ended with the scene where the Tom Cruise character is suspended in the vault, that movie would have had much more impact to it. But no, despite the swelling music, and pullaway shot, these scenes are not the end, and there's half an hour to go before everything turns out alright. NOTE: 1984 did not end happily, A clockwork Orange did not end happily (In the American release that is). The whole point of the movie is compromised by everything turning out fine.

i kinda like happy endings. when i pay my $9 bucks to see a movie, i don't want to come out of the theatre depressed and hating the world. if this movie would have ended with the kid in the sub, then it really would have been a pointless movie.

after watching the DVD and hating it, i began to watch it again on DBS, and it's not as bad as i thought it was. can't wait for the HiDef showing on HBO later in the year.

 

[Atvar]

I really liked this movie

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: KthxBye
I had more or less the same complaint about AI as I did about Minority Report: The ending. Speilberg takes a dark, Orwellian, cautionary movie, and ends it like E.T. If AI had ended with the kid in the submarine (you know, just before the "2000 years passed" narration) the movie would have been much more powerful. If minority report had ended with the scene where the Tom Cruise character is suspended in the vault, that movie would have had much more impact to it. But no, despite the swelling music, and pullaway shot, these scenes are not the end, and there's half an hour to go before everything turns out alright. NOTE: 1984 did not end happily, A clockwork Orange did not end happily (In the American release that is). The whole point of the movie is compromised by everything turning out fine.

happy ending? only if you want to think of it that way. in minority report it is possible that everything after he was halo'd was just his wish fulfilment. thats what happens when u get haloed apparently.


as for ai, the robot kid gets to shut off next to his simulated mom. how "happy"

 

[HendrixFan]

Ending the movie int he submarine would have been an unhappy ending for the sake of having an unhappy ending. What is the point if it ends there? Mans creations are destined to failure? People and AI cannot live together? Thats not what the movie is about. Its about the amazing possibility that AI is, and that there is nothing that can differentiate AI from any form of life.

As far as the Spielbergian "happy" ending, the ending was written by Kubrick, not known for his happy endings. Its how he wanted the movie to end, and without it the movie fails to convey any point, certainly not the point Kubrick was trying to make.

 

[flavio]

i kinda like happy endings. when i pay my $9 bucks to see a movie, i don't want to come out of the theatre depressed and hating the world. if this movie would have ended with the kid in the sub, then it really would have been a pointless movie.

after watching the DVD and hating it, i began to watch it again on DBS, and it's not as bad as i thought it was. can't wait for the HiDef showing on HBO later in the year.

I pay my $9 for GOOD MOVIES which don't need to have HAPPY ENDINGS. This kind of bullsh!t about needing a happy ending screws up alot of movies. Some of the most brilliant films that have come out in the last couple years have had bad endings: Requiem For a Dream, American Beauty (there's another thread here on that one), etc.