Out of control

Rating: 4/10 (6 July 2005)

Has Steven Spielberg lost his touch? In my opinion Mr. Spielberg brought us quite a number of amazing films; amazing in terms of their vision, their film-making and also their box office success. However, looking at A.I. and this one I have the impression that he might have lost his touch. It certainly is a challenging thing to adapt such a book and transform it to the present time. Hence, one would expect the director to guide the audience carefully through the script. Unfortunately, this attempt failed miserably. The film seems to be a melting pot of scenes that were put together without having any logical connection that is consistent throughout the film. Many things happen without a motivation that the audience could understand and some scenes seem to be there, to keep the actors busy. Tom Cruise's metamorphosis from ignorant playboy to caring family father is simply too smooth and miraculous. The film certainly sports stunning effects and, as expected, ILM did a wonderful job on the visual magic. However, this does not help to cover the rough spots and holes in the scripting and very soon one starts to ask the question "why has this just happened?"
I went to see the movie without great expectations after I read/heard mixed reviews. Still, I was honestly disappointed with what came out of a promising effort.