“A couple weeks ago, I was ordering something from Target. I was a few bucks short of the free shipping, so of course my solution was to snag a couple DVD’s. I mean, what else would I get?
I never got around to seeing this one before, but I knew the reception for it was pretty mixed. Some say it’s a great scifi, others a convoluted mess. To some, the effects are a great technological achievement, to others creepy. My feelings towards it were similarly mixed.
So this movie’s got three very clear acts. First, our boy robot David is taken in by a family he falls in love with. When he’s later rejected and abandoned by them, he obseses over searching for them. Then there’s the concluding act, which I know better than to spoil.
I was into the first section. That’s the sort of engaging drama with light scifi elements that I like. The second act went a little deep into the world, but kept on the surface with the story. Then it got really weird and confusing.
Oh by the way, while this is a Spielberg film, a lot of the groundwork was done by Kubrick. That kinda explains some of the rollercoaster ride I’m describing, yeah?
For me it mostly feels like such lost potential. It could have been something really great, but is ultimately kinda forgettable. And now 15 years later, it seems like forgettable is exactly what this one became. Probably for the best. I don’t know that there was anything particularly standout about this that would have made it worth remembering.”