Overview: Some low-budget movies make it with a terrific story and just the right quality of effects; others come close; and others still get worried about not quite making it, so they decide to spew insane plot twists at the viewer in the hopes of increasing the tension. Unfortunately, Johnny 2.0 takes this tact. The movie was “teetering on the edge” of being decent, but fell off the wrong side. Instead of going with the stream of increasingly unbelievable plot twists, had they spent just a bit more on beefing up the story, Johnny 2.0 could have gotten some real kudos.

The Story: In the present, the experimentation with cloning begins to take off when scientist Johnny Dalton (Jeff Fahey) teams up with Frank Donahue (Michael Ironside) to create a small cloning start-up that has terrific potential. They are able to speed up the cloning process, and more surprisingly, are able to take an MRI scan of a person’s brain in a way that can record their entire set of memories. Unfortunately, anti-technology terrorists attack their complex and severely hurt Johnny, causing a massive, bleeding head injury.

Johnny wakes up later to find that almost 20 years have passed, and that he is no longer Johnny Dalton – he’s a clone. Now referred to as “Johnny 2.0,” Johnny’s memories extend only to the injury 20 years ago when he had a scan of his memory. Now, the earth has become a dystopia, where countries have broken down, and only the corporations exist to maintain order. Worse, the “real” Johnny Dalton has either been taken by terrorists, or worse, has joined them, and has taken all his research, including a software program that removes imperfections in clones. Now, unless Johnny 2.0 can find and return the original Johnny Dalton, his body will start to break down within the week!

While the story starts off in an interesting way, and generally keeps a decent pacing, as things get tense, instead of resolving things in an innovative way, the viewer is continually assaulted with the most extreme plot twists. OK, one or maybe two might work, but Johnny 2.0 just doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone. Worse, in key scenes the rationale for certain characters starts to resemble the massive space invasion force surrounding Naboo in The Phantom Menace – they all seemingly took a lunch break when the counter attack came, leaving only one ship to defend their forces. When all is said and done, it’s simply not possible to suspend disbelief.

Johnny 2.0 Clone Technology Musings: For all its faults, Johnny 2.0 does have some interesting musings about cloning. The idea that clones can be sped up, and enhanced (by removing eye imperfections, improving the immune system, etc.) is interesting. More interesting is the idea that our memories can be recorded and re-inserted into a new host. Unfortunately, Johnny 2.0 doesn’t address idea with any degree of thought. In Johnny 2.0, the brain is essentially seen as an empty hard drive just waiting to be filled up with new memories. Even existing people apparently can have their memories wiped and re-inserted with new ones. Had this technology been combined with the rapid growth process, whereby a clone could be created while having their brain slowly become adapted to the imprinted memories, this would have worked lots better. Unfortunately, shortcomings in the ending narrative precluded anything unique here.

Even with the faults, Johnny 2.0 poses an interesting idea – that our existence could be perpetually extended by a combination of cloning and brain scanning. In Johnny 2.0, it’s the evil corporate head who is trying to cheat death, but if such a technology were created, one can only imagine the change we see in society. Imagine the chances we individually would take.

The FX: For the most part, the FX was what you’d expect – low budget TV fare. It wasn’t too distracting though, and pretty much worked for what was intended. Some of the effects, like the force field walkthrough scene was pretty forced though. One wonders why they would spend the money for a high-tech force field instead of a wall, especially when it can be penetrated so easily. They also seemed to try to stick VR helmets on everyone – this is more a sign of the times as VR stuff was hot in the mid nineties.

The Bottom Line: While the concept is interesting, this made for TV movie is poorly implemented. Although, there is enough here to get a modicum of enjoyment, and the movie does start off well enough that I feel compelled to give it at least a 5 star rating, especially considering it’s low budget. The actors were at least adequate (Michael Ironside of Total Recall fame was definitely the best of the bunch), so consider giving it a watch if nothing else strikes you.

Overview: What a strange movie to try to categorize. Bicentennial Man seems like a Sci-Fi movie at times and a drama at others. In many ways, Bicentennial Man is hit or miss. Robin Williams and Embeth Davidtz are terrific, but the script itself really has trouble figuring out what movie this is going to be. Still, but there’s enough here to make it worth a viewing, as long as you don’t mind overly sappy movies.

The Story: In the very recent past (2005 – but it was the near future in 1999), the Martin family has gotten a new appliance – a robot named Andrew. And while Andrew obeys the three laws of Robotics, and Andrew (Robin Williams) comes right out of the box with a sense of unexpected wonder. Andrew seems interested in all sorts of things that Robots aren’t normally interested in. In spending time with the youngest daughter, Little Miss (Embeth Davidtz), Andrew learns the meaning of love and humanity. Richard Martin, the father (Sam Neill) is intrigued by this and brings Andrew back to the corporation to talk about his “uniqueness.” The robotics maker is worried that this “bug” will ruin business and wants him terminated immediately. Luckily for Andrew, Richard likes his uniqueness, and decides to spend his time teaching Andrew everything a sentient person needs to know.

Andrew continues to grow and expand his capabilities and thinking. He becomes a master clock maker, and after working out the specifics of getting a bank account, makes millions in selling them. Time hurries on (well, not really – this part could have been edited somewhat) and Andrew’s family grows old and starts to die off. Andrew eventually asks and is granted his freedom, but still hangs around the family, especially Little Miss. He eventually goes in search of others like him, and then later finds ways of “upgrading” his appearance to become human-looking. It is at this point that he meets Little Miss’s grand daughter, Portia. He is captivated by her immediately, and begins to contemplate sharing the love with a human. But in order to do so, he decides he must be “declared” a human – this too will require change.

Is it cyberpunk? I was really torn about whether or not to include Bicentennial Man on this site. It clearly is not a cyberpunk movie in tone, in that the near future is closer to an idyllic situation than a dystopic one. We also don’t see a massive corporation controlling society. In fact, the story isn’t focused on society at all – it’s on an individual. So why include it in a cyberpunk site? Because of the post-human nature of the story Bicentennial Man presents us. Here we see an example of an android as a post-human versus a human transformed into a cyborg. The whole question of sentient androids and their quest for freedom and self-determination is raised and explored, although not to the extent I would have liked. In this Idyllic future, Androids are essentially still considered high-tech kitchen appliances. In its better moments, Bicentennial Man poses the question our society may face one day – when do we grant human rights to the products of our innovation? But again, I do fully appreciate that this move sits more in the gray area than it does as a cyberpunk flick.

What defines humanity? One really wishes Bicentennial Man spent more time elaborating these questions instead of getting mired in a love story. While the love story was interesting and well done in an overly sappy sort of way, it is far less interesting than the question of what would make androids human. Here we have two androids – one clearly nothing more than a kitchen appliance, and the other something significantly more. Andrew has freewill, self-determination, is self-motivated, and clearly seems to “feel” love. Over time, he upgrades his body with the help of robotics tinkerer, Rupert Burns (Oliver Platt) so that he is human in virtually every way (can feel, have sex, etc.). In Bicentennial Man, Andrew pursues being declared “human” versus having human rights. Unfortunately, the movie glosses over how Andrew had the rights to maintain a bank account, own a house on the beach, or even a company. It’s clear that humanity encapsulates quite a few requirements – this movie focuses on our lack of immortality as a defining characteristic of humanity. While this may be true, it’s hardly complete. We are left with the idea that Andrew has all the other (unstated) traits but this one.

The Love Story: Bicentennial Man is a love story, and although it’s sappy, it’s still a complicated one. Andrew was really in love with Little Miss, but neither he nor her (who was also in love with him) were strong enough to admit it. Yet Andrew has another chance when her grand daughter, Portia, is an almost perfect image of Little Miss. Even then Andrew has trouble coming to terms with the possibilities. In the end, Andrew’s potential relationship with Portia represents his last step transforming to human.

The FX: While Andrew’s expressions are well done, clearly lots more could have been undertaken here. Every so often, we get glimpses of futuristic cityscapes, but unfortunately, these appear more tacked on than integrated. Throughout most of the story, which takes place over the course of 200 years, we see no interesting change in society. Literally, the technology doesn’t seem to affect life at all. This really is an almost unforgivable lack of thought and imagination. While there was scene after scene of little love and caring vignettes, futuristic visions were pretty much non-existent here – they could have easily been integrated.

The Bottom Line: There is a number of problems with Bicentennial Man which detracts enjoyment. For starters, Andrew’s uniqueness is essentially magical, as no explanation is ever given. I would have hoped as Andrew became an inventor supreme of human and android cyborg parts, he would have spent time questioning his own existence and attempted to replicate it. Also, the length of time spent on Andrew with his family could probably have been edited down somewhat, and the time spent on the more interesting android questions and their effect on society could have been expanded. Still, there is enough here to make Bicentennial Man worth a watch. Williams and Davidtz have great chemistry and make the sappy love story work. And the questions posed are explored in at least enough detail to make you think.

Overview: Originally convieved of by Stanley Kubrick, Spielberg took the reigns of this wonderful Pinocchio tale done in cyberpunk. This story is about a robot who wants to be a “real boy” so that his mother will really love him. Like Pinocchio, he goes on a journey of discovery. Although there are a few over-the-top scenes, the FX is awesome and the acting is wonderful. AI definitely inspires discussion if nothing else.

The Story: Set in a near future where global warming has led flooding of all the coasts, and a general breakdown has occurred in many parts of the world. Robots, called Mechas, are common in society now, and perform a variety of functions. Unfortunatley, there is widespread public outcry against their very existence. The focus is on a single family, where a mother has essentially lost her son, who now hangs on to life in cryogenic freeze. Her husband convinces her to get a new model mecha to replace their son – this one becomes hard-wired to its owner and experiences real love and emotion. After accepting their new mecha, a child named David, the family’s life seems complete – until their real son miraculously recovers from his illness.

Their real son feels threatened by David, and after a sequence of incidents, David’s mother is forced to send David back to his maker for destruction. But while driving him to his death, she cannot bring herself to follow through, and instead sets him free. In a traumatic breakup, David’s mother warns him of the dangers of the outside world before leaving him alone with just his Teddy toy. David, having been read Pinocchio, decides that if he can find the Blue Fairy, he can convince her to turn him into a “real boy.” Along the way, he encounters Gigilo Joe, who helps him on his journey.

The Acting: The acting in AI is consistently terrific. Haley Joel Osment puts in a performance you’d never expect to see from an actor so young. He is utterly believable both as a mecha, and as his journey proceeds, seemingly transforms into a regular acting boy. Jude Law puts in a terrific performance as Gigilo Joe – one that almost transcends the movie itself as a memorable character. Frances O’Connor also delivers a fine performance as David’s mother, as does William Hurt as David’s inventor.

The FX: The visual effects in AI are still among the best that’s ever been put on film. The mechas (robots) look incredibly real – far more real than should be possible. There are many different kinds of mechas, many of which are represented here, but none are better than the Nanny. She is breathtaking. The entire front-end of the movie gives us a very normal set of surroundings. Other than the cars, and minor mecha parts, we aren’t dazzled by the upfront effects. This makes the second half all the more impressive. When David goes outside, things change dramatically. From the robots, to the city-scapes to the destroyed New York, this AI is a visual feast. To top it off, the Teddy Bear is maybe my favorite robot character of all movies.

The Score: John Williams is as awesome as ever in creating the score for AI. He is able to capture the feeling of the dregs of humanity along with an almost heavenly sense of love and contentment. The score really brings the movie together in places that with something lessor it might not have worked.

Kubrick versus Spielberg: AI is a strange movie in that it encapsulates a harsh Kubrick-style future while at the same time has a story that lends itself to Spielberg’s Capra-like tendency for the emotional mushiness. In watching AI, rarely do the two tendencies meet up well. We either have the dystopic craziness of the Flesh Fair or the serenity of the beginning. We also see dramatic changes in pacing. In some parts, we have a very slow, deliberate movie, whereas in others, it seemingly breezes past key scenes.

Some thoughts on the ending: Many folks who generally like the movie end up hating the ending. I don’t have this issue - in fact I like the ending, but I do understand the sentiment. The ending really does drop into a completely different movie altogether. In effect, it becomes the fairy tale that David pursues the entire movie. But because I KNOW the ending engenders discussion, I am concerned about spoilers in the comments below. PLEASE don’t post spoiler thoughts - if you do, your comment will be deleted. Instead, I’ve created a thread in the meatspace to discuss the ending of AI.

The Bottom Line: AI is a visual feast of dystopia and human morals run amok. As the same time, it’s a beautiful love story about the best of humanity. Many have issues with the ending, although, it works fine for me. While the actions in the Flesh Fair are bit outside believability, overall, the story is very well done. The CG is among the best ever on film (check out page 2 below if you want to see more screencaps). It doesn’t serve to astonish us, but instead, attempts to integrated seemlessly into the film. The acting is terrific, especially from Haley Joel Osment (David the robot boy) and Jude Law (Gigolo Joe). On top of this, we get a very interesting portrayal of a future with sentient robots who do not have any rights. One can almost see the Animatrix’s Rennaissance occurring shortly afterwards.

Go to AI, Page 2: More Screencaps –>>