In the summer of 2001, audiences walked into theaters expecting another E.T. Instead, they got a punch to the gut. The Steven Spielberg AI movie, officially titled A.I. Artificial Intelligence, remains one of the most debated hand-offs in Hollywood history. It’s a movie that feels like a glitch in the matrix—half cold, clinical Stanley Kubrick and half warm, weeping Steven Spielberg.
Honestly, the "Sentimental Spielberg" vs. "Cynical Kubrick" debate is mostly a myth. People love to blame Spielberg for the ending. They call it "sappy." They say he "Disney-fied" a dark masterpiece. But the truth? That ending was almost entirely Kubrick's.
The Handshake That Changed Sci-Fi
This project was basically Stanley Kubrick’s baby for twenty years. He bought the rights to Brian Aldiss’s short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long way back in the 70s. He spent decades obsessing over it. He hired writers, fired them, then hired them again. He even sat on the project because he didn't think a child actor could carry the role of David. He wanted a real robot. Or, at the very least, CGI that didn't exist yet.
Then Jurassic Park happened in 1993.
💡 You might also like: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer
Kubrick saw the T-Rex and realized the tech was finally there. But a weird thing happened. He didn't want to direct it anymore. He told Spielberg, "This is closer to your sensibility than mine." He actually wanted to produce it while Spielberg directed. Imagine that dynamic. The most meticulous man in cinema calling the shots for the king of the blockbuster.
Why the Steven Spielberg AI Movie Still Divides Fans
When Kubrick passed away in 1999, Spielberg felt a massive weight. He didn't just make a movie; he fulfilled a dead friend’s last wish. He even wrote the screenplay himself—a rarity for him—using Kubrick's extensive notes and a treatment by Ian Watson.
People often point to the "aliens" at the end as proof that Spielberg ruined the vibe. Except they aren't aliens. They are Specialist Mechas—highly evolved robots from the distant future who have outlived humanity.
📖 Related: Is Heroes and Villains Legit? What You Need to Know Before Buying
- The Flesh Fair: A brutal sequence where old robots are destroyed for sport.
- Gigolo Joe: Jude Law’s character, who provides a weirdly sexual, cynical edge.
- The Blue Fairy: David's obsession with a myth that leads him to the bottom of the ocean.
Most critics at the time hated the final 20 minutes. They thought David should have stayed frozen at the bottom of the sea. That’s the "Kubrick ending," right? Wrong. Watson and Spielberg both confirmed that the 2,000-year jump and the "resurrection" of the mother was Kubrick’s idea from the jump. Kubrick wanted the fairy tale. He wanted the Pinocchio arc to finish, even if it was devastatingly sad.
The Real Heartbreak
The ending isn't happy. Not even a little bit. Monica is a clone who only lives for one day. David gets his "perfect day," but it’s a total simulation. It’s a ghost story. He’s a machine finding comfort in a lie because the reality of being alone is too much to bear. If that's "sappy," then we have very different definitions of the word.
Spielberg actually kept the "dark" stuff in, too. Think about the scene where David sees the rows of "David" dolls in the factory. It's an existential nightmare. He realizes he isn't special. He's a product. That's pure, unadulterated body horror.
👉 See also: Jack Blocker American Idol Journey: What Most People Get Wrong
Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going to revisit the Steven Spielberg AI movie, do yourself a favor and look past the surface-level sentimentality.
- Watch the lighting: Janusz Kaminski uses a blown-out, hazy style that makes the world feel like a dream—or a memory that's fading.
- Focus on Teddy: The supertoy bear is the real witness to history. He’s the one who survives it all.
- Ignore the "Alien" labels: View the beings at the end as descendants of our own tech. It changes the context from a "first contact" story to an "archaeology of the soul" story.
This movie wasn't meant to be a fun summer romp. It was a bridge between two of the greatest minds in film history. It’s messy, it’s long, and it’s deeply uncomfortable. But that’s exactly why it’s a masterpiece.
To truly understand the legacy of this film, look for the 20th-anniversary retrospective interviews with Haley Joel Osment. He breaks down how Spielberg directed him to never blink. That one small choice is what makes David feel so "other," even when he’s crying for his mother. It’s a technical marvel that still holds up better than most CGI-heavy movies coming out today.