A.I. (the movie)

[Jeff Bone]

(no real spoilers, hopefully...)

Went and saw it thisafternoon, it's imperfect but definitely worth
seeing --- despite all the pro- and con-Kubrickness controversy, I'd
say Spielberg (a) did pretty well in making a Kubrick film, and (b)
still managed to avoid a Kubrickian disaster.  It's a big story, and
the movie suffers from some disjointedness as a result.  The three
acts should narratively have been separated by large amounts of time,
and been more balanced in screentime between them, but for various
movie-esque reasons they compressed the first and second acts into
the same narrative era.

Going from the semi-idyllic setting of the first act to the
Bladerunner / Road Warrior-esque dystopia of the second act is too
severe a transition.  This isn't enough to blow the movie, IMHO.  The
second act is pretty much just straight sci-fi fare, a fairy tale in
technical clothing, and doesn't really advance the top line dilemma;
it merely adds context and sympathy for the mechas.  Gigolo Joe is
entertaining in his own right;  I only wish it'd been Geisha Geege or
something instead...  sure, Jude Law is pretty to look at, I'm secure
enough to say *that* at least, but I'd rather see Jennifer Connelly,
Mia Kirshner, etc...  ;-)

This movie is probably the first serious attempt to tackle some
really thorny conceptual problems.  Despite my disagreement with the
premise --- that we'll have to *make* affective AI, rather than
having it happen naturally and up front --- it manages to be poignant
and ethically challenging.  (Some of it is a bit trite, but the
questions still come through;  the answers, when provided, are
shallow enough to leave one thinking.)

The "framework" of the last act is fascinating, though the execution
seems like an exercise in wrap-up.

All in all, though, it's worth seeing for anyone who's interested in
the questions "what does it mean to be human?" and "where do we go
from here?"  It doesn't really answer those questions effectively,
but it frames the debate in interesting ways...  Makes me pause and
give thought again to hitting Doug Lenat up for a job, barring other
opportunities...  :-)

Jeff Bob sez check it out!

jb