Candy coated A.I. wannabe

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2001)

What an ugly mug that Tom Cruise sports in close up after close up in this supposedly intelligent "thriller". It is all hopeless to describe and pointless to write about. This is because it is about a character who is so despicable, we WANT him to die! You mean he survived again? GGRRRR! There has never been so much TOM CRUISE in one movie and he can not carry this thing because he is not likable- hardly at all in real life, even less so in this film. The ending is the only thing which really makes this film at all worth seeing but it plays like a long, LONG version of an episode of the Twilight Zone. There is also an element of Spielberg's 'A.I' in here as well as Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut'. In 'A.I.', the main character is also named David and it also ends with a gonzo whopper of a sci-fi finale. Unfortunately for this film, 'A.I.' also had two interesting acts previous to the last one, which this film does not have. Not to strain the Spielberg connection too much, but the guy makes a cameo in 'Vanilla Sky'(why?).All of that said, there are some creepy moments but unfortunately they add up to nil. Also, Cameron Crowe's trademark "alternative" sounding rock soundtrack finally spoils the party. Finally when things are getting interesting I hear Sinead O' Connor and I think, "Oh, this is from that album that bombed". I am taken out of the story just when it is getting good (at two hours +). Watch this one on late night cable when you are alone in your motel room at the "Red Roof Inn" and have nothing better to do. Actually, scratch that. At the "Red Roof Inn" you can play Nintendo for 8.50 an hour. THAT would be money well spent.