I will admit this movie is too long and overly ambitious, but when it finally gets down to business at the end it is deeply moving. David, the Mech who insists on becoming a real boy, emerges as a precious find for his futuristic Mech brethren and the only link to the long-gone human past. Another element I found compelling was the melting of the polar ice caps-- a definite possibility for the not-too-distant future. Small atoll nations in the South Pacific are already going under.
At first I was leery of what Spielberg might do to this story, with his penchant for sappy sentimentality, but I found it fascinating to see him grapple with such complex material. The story, and the ghost of Stanley Kubrick, brings darkness and restraint to what could have been a simplistic special-effects fest. Spielberg is a little like David-- he has to make his way through a world that is strange to him. This is a compellingly flawed film, which is why I recommend it.
At first I was leery of what Spielberg might do to this story, with his penchant for sappy sentimentality, but I found it fascinating to see him grapple with such complex material. The story, and the ghost of Stanley Kubrick, brings darkness and restraint to what could have been a simplistic special-effects fest. Spielberg is a little like David-- he has to make his way through a world that is strange to him. This is a compellingly flawed film, which is why I recommend it.
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