Interesting Take on A.I. but Sad Prophecy

Rating: 6/10 (30 May 2014)

Like Steven Spielberg's A.I., Her gives us a glimpse into very plausible future. As society becomes more and more reliant on technology, especially kinds of artificial intelligence such as Apple's "Siri" and gamers are becoming engrossed in ultra-realistic games using technology like Microsoft's Kinect, you can almost see how a lonely guy could start to fall for companionship of a computer. The story starts to fall apart, however, on the part of the Operating System "Samantha". If you know anything about the basics of a computer program, you know that all operations are based on "If,then" parameters and nothing more. A computer does not, and cannot want (perhaps one of the best aspects of this film is provoking philosophical discussion over what sentience really is and where the dividing line is that separates human from animal and machine). If I were in Theodore's position I would never be able to get past the thought of knowing that Sam's ultimate objective was probably programmed "to make the user happy" and not that she loved me. Anyway, the story is a great idea and my biggest beef with the plot is the ending. The story needed to end somewhere and so Sam just sort of dissipates in her cyber universe. I really think the ending should have been Theodore coming to a realization that Sam was only a program with human mask and that his needs could only be met in a real human and thus choosing to walk away. The movie gets points for cinematography. I enjoyed the color palette, score, drawings on the wall in Theodore's office and (even though the wardrobes were drab)the choice of a future "look" in fashion.