Is it a Modern Pinocchio???? (A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2 DVDs))

Member Name: sewbizzie

Product:	A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2 DVDs)
Date:	04/02/09 (228 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story, excellent acting

Disadvantages: None for me

For some reason unknown to me this film is one of my hubbies favourite, I do like the film but I have to admit that I have seen a lot better, but then again I have also seen a lot worse.

The film is set in the future where adults are only allowed to have children if they have a licence as they are trying to keep the population numbers down so scientists have started working on making robot children. For 20 years one scientist has been working on making a robot child that is capable of love. When he finishes the robot he decided to test it out with the family of one of his employers who already have a son but he is in a coma, where he has been for the past 5 years after an accident.

The family take the robot but the mother is not completely sure about it. Soon the robot boy settles in and things start to be settling down for them until one day where their own son awakes from his coma. Once their son is home he does not take to the robot boy so the parents face the decision choosing a son to keep. The real son talks the robot boy into running away to find a blue fairy which he says will help him to become a real boy like him.

The robot boy sets off in search of this blue fairy but soon comes across a city which is full of robots. Will the boy go home, stay with the other robots or continue his search for the blue fairy?

I have to say I was not too keen on the idea of this film at first but after the first 20 or so minutes I found I was completely engrossed in it. The characters were all excellent and very believable. I though that Haley Joel Osment was excellent in his character of a robot child. He managed to make me fall in love with him and at times I felt so sorry for him. I thought he did a fantastic job or making me feel so many different emotions.

Jude Law who plays a robot living in the robot city was also excellent with his ability to again make me laugh and then make me extremely sad. I though the way his character took to the robot boy was very good and believable. The overall story was good and although set in the future it still seemed somewhat real with the way it was about robots as scientists are always striving to make the most realistic one possibly.

As the film was set in the future all of the scenery and props were futuristic and I though they were all great and not at all far fetched. They kept in with the film very well and added to the whole watching experience for me. I though that the effects were very good and they all kept in with the film and did not look out of place and none of them looked noticeable, they blended them with the other footage very well indeed.

Without giving too much away I thought that the end could have been done differently as the one which it has had been almost in tears as it is very sad. I would have liked the film to have had a different outcome.

The DVD which I have is the 2 disc special edition. The second disc is full of bonus material which includes:-

Documentary on bringing AI to the screen
Interview with Steven Spielberg, Haley Joel Osment, and Jude Law
Newly-produced behind the scenes Featurettes on the making of AI
An interview with sound director Gary Rydstrom at Skywalker Ranch
A visit to Stan Winston studios with early Teddy footage
Interviews with Lucasfilms ILM special effects group
Trailers, storyboard, drawings and hundreds of photos approved by Spielberg
Interactive Menu
Scene access
And much more!

I have not personally watched any of these bonus features as I feel it would spoil the film but my hubby has sat and watched the majority of them and he does recommend that if you can get hold of the two disc special and you like a look at how things are brought to the screen then it is definitely worth getting.

The film was produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg and Bonnie Curtis and was Directed by Steven Spielberg. The running time of the film is 140 minutes which is a suitable length as I did not find I was loosing interest at any point. The film also has a 12 certificate.

This film is now available for just a few pounds on several internet sites and I would definitely have to say it is worth a watch.

Summary: A robot boy goes in search of the blue fairy to make him a real boy.