Where I bought this movie: Newbury Comics in Boston back in 2002. Newbury also had a bunch of used DVDs…in fact I think they were one of the first media stores that sold used DVDs. I miss that place…I miss Boston.* Why Own It?: I’m a sucker for wanting to own things after people die. Even though Steven Spielberg directed this movie, it was based on a script by Stanley Kubrick who was set to direct it before dying suddenly. Throw the goofy kid from The Sixth Sense into it and some pretty cool special effects and I was in a postmortem craving for this film.
* Had I seen this movie before?: I had seen it just once, in my old apartment in Brighton Center, Massachusetts…I miss my old apartment. My bedroom was big enough for a couch, a queen sized bed, and a Christmas tree.
* Time collecting dust: Almost 10 years.
* What I thought of the movie: When A.I. hit the theaters, I was dying to see it. The special effects looked amazing and the whole story was intriguing too. Taking place at some point in the future, science has allowed man to create robots in the shape of men…or in this movie’s case, a little boy named David. What starts as a tender mother/son relationship, it turns into a “robot boy fighting for survival” with some humor thrown in. At the center of the movie is Haley Joel Osmont’s performance as a little boy, in the form of a robot, just wanting to be loved by his mother. All in all, I liked this movie, but didn’t love it. The last 30 minutes drags a bit and the ending is just plain weird and has shades of Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull.
And the cast: The cast is small here. You have Haley Joel Osmont in almost every scene but then you mix in Jude Law and a few other adults. Haley does well though I wish I could punch him in the face a few times. He seemed too cheery to me. Keep a look out for a bunch of cameos from famous actors in the scene where the robots are about to be torn apart. My favorite character has to be Osmont’s stuffed animal and friend “Teddy”. To see a live walking and acting Teddy Bear and not have it look like Teddy Ruxpin was really neat. Teddy is voiced by Jack Angel who holds a special place in my heart as the voice of Astro Train in the original Transformers cartoon.
This guy is in it too.
Favorite Scenes: 1.) All the ones where things go wrong for David like eating the spinach and seeing his eye droop and mouth malfunction and later on when he’s pushed into the swimming pool. 2.) The scene where the robots are torn apart in inventive fashions. 3.) Near the end where pan over New York City but finding it submerged except for the tops of the tallest building (including the World Trade Center…sniff sniff)
Recommended?: For the special effects, yes. The story holds up enough to keep you interested but the second half and especially the final 30 minutes slows everything down.
Get used to this expression...it made me angry
Cut the BS about the movie, I just want to know if there is any nudity: Nothing…not even a robot penis.
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