A.I. -- Artificial Intelligence (Movie Review)

Word that Steven Spielberg was working on a new SF flick first made its way to me several years back. Needless to say, I was excited. When it became known that it was from the project previously belonging to Stanley Kubrick, which was in turn based on a screen story by British author Ian Watson, that excitement grew. Throw in the fact that it was also based on Brian Aldiss’s short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long," and what more could an SF fan hope for?

Move forward a few years to the summer of 2001 and you find me running off to the theatre to hand over my $18 for the chance to see A.I. splashed upon the silver screen. The fact that I was on my way to the theatre was no surprise. The fact that I was practically dragged there by my wife was. Of course, we were there for different reasons: me for the SF; her because it was Spielberg/Kubrick. What we found was not what either of us expected. We both reacted in an unexpected way to the story of an android boy who longed to be real—a modern-day Pinocchio.

Underlying the SF glitter is an unbearably sad story. A lot changed for me from the time I first heard that this film was in the works and last weekend, when I saw it on the big screen. Since those words first reached my ears, I became a father. I can honestly say that your status in that area of life will influence how you react to A.I. When you have no one relying on you, you feel invincible. But if you’ve ever had a small child—your small child—look up at you, then you know that every move you make in life has to be thought out: How does it affect those who depend on me?

For that reason—and because of various other events that have happened to me

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