I really liked this movie. I was very impressed. I had worried that Spielberg was going to turn Kubrick’s vision into some kid’s movie with corny lines. Thank god, there was actually only a handful of them in the whole movie. This was one of those films where I felt like I was transported into another dimension, where I felt fully submerged in the story and the world it existed in. It was very beautiful.
Janusz Kaninski is an excellent cinematographer as always. His love for light has produced some absolutely heavenly scenes filled with haze and grain that he is so good at using to enhance the beauty of film. Sometimes I forget how much richer and alive things look when shot on film as opposed to digital video…
The story was very interesting. It was sometimes disturbing, and I really liked how very different the second half is from the first. Jude Law was a very convincing robot, and Haley Joe Osment was incredibly endearing. He used to annoy me, but his fantastic transition from robot to real boy (in demeanor) verily changed my mind about him.
It did get a little slow during the beginning of the last third of the film (it’s a 2 and a half hour film), and sometimes I would wonder if the film was about to end. In a way, I thought this would have been cool because it really would have left the audience feeling weirded out and unfulfilled, hehe. But, the strange twist at the end. Rather, the great leap at the end was very interesting and very cool. I was quite touched by the plot, being a sci fi fan. The questions of robots and artificial intelligence, and a world that produces advanced versions of this was a great setting to introduce ethical issues. This film also gives this strange sense of being a mix of a hundred other stories. There were times I felt I was watching “E.T.”, whether from the constant moon theme, or the John Williams music. Besides the obvious, Pinnochio, I also caught strange reminders of “Bladerunner”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and “TRON” believe it or not!!! Ask anyone whose seen this flick and they will probably relate to you at least three other films other than the ones I just mentioned that they were reminded of by this film.
If you have the patience to overlook the slow part, then watch this movie. The strange plot, moral issues, and beautiful cinematography will sweep you away into a different world, and you leave the theater either feeling good, depressed, or at least a little dazed. I really enjoyed this movie. It’s nice to see things that sway from Hollywood formula, especially from Spielberg. It’s definitely worth 4 stars.
- 2 eprops - 3 comments -