A. I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

A. I.: Artificial Intelligence  (2001)

Genre(s): Adapted from a Story, Childhood Visions, Family Ties, Future Shock, Post Apocalypse, Robots & Androids, Sci Fi

Cast: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards, Brendan Gleeson, William Hurt, Jake Thomas, Clara Bellar, Enrico Colantoni, Adrian Grenier, Emmanuelle Chriqui; VOICE(S) BY: Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Meryl Streep, Jack Angel; NARRATED BY: Ben Kingsley; DIRECTED BY: Steven Spielberg; WRITTEN BY: Steven Spielberg; CINEMATOGRAPHY BY: Janusz Kaminski; MUSIC BY: John Williams; SOUND: Ronald Judkins; EDITING: Michael Kahn; ART DIRECTION: Richard Johnson, Jim Teegarden, Thomas Valentine; COSTUMES: Bob Ringwood; PRODUCTION DESIGN: Rick Carter. PRODUCER: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros., Dreamworks Pictures.

Review: Definitely an acquired taste--the uneasy melding of a long-cherished idea by late director Stanley Kubrick and the homage directed by Spielberg. Global warming has submerged the world's coastal cities but advanced humanoid robots, or "mechas," keep things going. Professor Hobby (Hurt) has made a child mecha, David (Osment), designed to be loving and extremely loyal--in this case to his human mother Monica (O'Connor) who eventually abandons him to the cruel wide world. Having heard the Pinocchio story, David (and his mecha bear Teddy) go in search of the Blue Fairy who can make David a "real" boy. Along the way, David meets mecha Gigolo Joe (Law), who profers good advice about the perfidity of human beings. It's long, it's dark, it's confusing, it's sometimes boring, and sometimes touching. Law's role is small but, as usual, Osment carries the picture. Based on the 1969 short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss.