Nostalgia Critic and DJJD Review: A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Nostalgia Critic – A.I.:  Artificial Intelligence  [Warning:  Adult Language]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnIEBkTGSCc

The Nostalgia Critic also rips on the shallow Hollywood Entertainment “news” show TMZ.

This movie is not that bad.  Yes this movie has problems, but the problems is not due to the lack of substance – like many summer blockbuster films currently have.  The major problem is something that could not be helped – the death of Stanley Kubrick.  If it was possible for Stanley Kubrick to live three more years, he and the assistance of Steven Spielberg could have made this one of the greatest Sci-Fi films of all time.   

The original plan was to have Stanley Kubrick be the Executive Producer while Steven Spielberg would have been the Director.  The reason why Kubrick did not want to direct this is that he was not good in dealing with the CGI special effects technical aspects of the movie – just the story elements.  This plan was to make this film after Full Metal Jacket, but the special effects were not up to the level at the time – finally accomplished by ILM in Jurassic Park.  Therefore Kubrick went on to direct this other project Eyes Wide Shut. 

This plan could have worked.  It worked fine with the first three Indiana Jones films [the forth film being an exception] with the team up of George Lucas as Executive Producer and Steven Spielberg as director.  This could potentially work with the up and coming film Man of Steel, whereby the great Christopher Nolan is Executive Producer and Zach Synder is the director. 

Unfortunately it was not meant to be.  Steven Spielberg did his best to complete Stanley Kubrick’s last active project as a dedication to Kubrick.   It just Spielberg is not “wired” like Kubrick.  You can see the evidence of Kubrick’s work in some scenes.  But one thing is for sure, this would not have been a PG-13 film under Kubrick’s direction.  It would have been a much darker tone.  The whole Rogue City is suppose to be a modern day “Red Light District” of sex and prostitution, conveying the slow decline of civilization after the natural disaster of the ice poles melting – almost Blade Runner-ish.   Spielberg, the director who assisted in the PG-13 rating in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, obviously clean it up so it would hit the PG-13 rating.  That is one example of the hard edge

of a Kubrick film element that was missing.   I am not totally criticizing Spielberg’s effort, he just has a different mind-set.  He did his best to convey that darkness in the ending. 

Mankind is wiped out and only robots exist and evolved.  All they are doing to trying to archive as much information about mankind’s dead civilization as possible And they found David.  Being respectful of David’s wanting to be loved, they tried to revive the human mother for a short time.  And I get the message.   Yes it has flaws but it’s not a mindless film.

At first I did not like the film as much.  Now the movie has grown on me, given the fact that I am starving for any substantive “oasis” movies out there in the modern day theater “desert”.

What do you guys think?  Give me your thoughts.