![]()
It is an admittedly intriguing question whether, in the future, man will be able to instill human emotions in robots. A.I. is premised on just such a phenomenon; the soulful-eyed boy “”mecha”” (pronounced “”Mecca””) David (Haley Joel Osment) is created by Professor Hobby (John Hurt), and conveyed to a bereaved couple (Frances O’Connor and Sam Robards), whose only child (Jake Thomas) lies comatose. In the opening scenes, as the magisterial prof explains the breakthrough, one of his students throws out an ethical question that stumps him: what responsibility will humans have toward these creatures?
The rest of the movie–clocking in at a hefty 2 hours 25 minutes, and feeling every minute of it–is concerned, in one way or another, with answering that question. But while Steven Spielberg tries to recapture the otherworldly, humanist magic of