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The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 121: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
🕑 Added 2025-01-20 22:49:12 +0000 UTCA.I. Artificial Intelligence is every bit the overlong and fractured feeling movie we remember from 24 years ago, but even with some of those negative feelings re-confirmed, we find plenty to discuss, dissect, and even appreciate about Spielberg's tribute to his friend Stanley.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 121: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
(00:01:26) - Intro.
(00:02:50) - Our histories with this extremely divisive film.
(00:08:36) - The chunkiness of the movie's structure.
(00:16:19) - Does the movie ever fully commit to the rules of its own world?
(00:21:25) - Getting into the storied and crazy production history.
(00:36:19) - Who do we blame?
(00:39:46) - Our star-studded cast.
(00:48:52) - Break!
(00:49:15) - We're back, and it's time to get into this movie!
(00:54:30) - Some of our issues with the movie's world building.
(01:01:07) - Frozen child syndrome, and a brand new robot to sate your bottomless grief.
(01:09:17) - Maybe should have thought through this whole imprinting thing a
little more.
(01:15:32) - Martin comes home.
(01:25:21) - A tragic haircut, and a terrible pool party.
(01:35:30) - Leaving David by the side of the road.
(01:41:39) - Gigolo Joe makes his grand entrance.
(01:48:57) - The Flesh Fair comes calling.
(01:58:48) - Mass producing your dead son.
(02:03:39) - Rouge City and its myriad pornographic delights.
(02:11:20) - We're off to Manhattan. Man. Hattan. MAN. HATTAN.
(02:21:26) - David's underwater adventure begins.
(02:28:08) - TWO THOUSAND YEARS LATER.
(02:39:38) - The extremely messed up implications of bringing back Monica.
(02:50:48) - Final thoughts.
(03:03:47) - Outro.
Comments
Kevin Marshall
Thanks for letting us know!
Brian Streleckis
I'm afraid I might have to pass on listening to a podcast this long.
csl316
Watched it in two sittings, which was definitely the right call. I remember the big time skip from my only viewing 20 years ago, but the break didn't make it feel as tedious as I remember. Overall, I enjoyed this watch, even if it feels like 3 different movies. The last act just made me want to replay Nier: Automata for spoiler reasons, so something good came from all this. Also, a 3+ hour show???? Let's do this.
Neil Marroquin
I totally thought those were aliens..
Samael
I watched this in the theater with my brother and was so heart sick at the end, I never wanted to see it again. It's sad in ways that stick with me to the point where it's not healthy. I'll occasionally catch pieces of it on TV or whatever and I'm reminded of the deep tragedy of every piece of this film. The seeming endless cruelty of humanity that is slowly mimicking real-life. Loving someone unconditionally that will never return that. And the apocalyptic end becoming more prescient by the day.
Brian Murphy
I like this quote from an Ari Aster interview where he talks about the ending. "I remember walking out and thinking, 'This is such a hokey ending.' He does the Spielberg thing, and it’s so saccharine. But then I returned to it maybe ten years ago—maybe a little more—and it was like the most haunting thing I’d ever seen. It almost feels evil. You know, he’s given one last day with his mother, but it’s not really his mother. It’s been centuries since she died. It’s this false clone of his mother who can only stay alive for one day. That makes no sense, but it’s also perfect. So he holds onto that memory for eternity—but it’s a false memory, and she’s false. And he’s false too. It’s enough to make you sick, but it’s also incredible. For me, that’s one of the greatest endings in film."
Rikard Gustafsson
Yes FFS Brad :)
Pantalones Johnson
Brad… Brad… Brad! How have you not seen Schindler’s List? Drop what you are currently doing and watch this film FFS. It’s the ultimate counterpart to Saving Private Ryan.
Brian Murphy
I truly love this movie. I think it's very misunderstood. I went to see it 3 time in movie theater, bringing different friends along. It got ranked #6 of the decade by my favorite movie reviewing site, Reverse Shot. https://reverseshot.org/symposiums/4/best-of-the-decade
Zeemod
I watched this movie over 3 days, not because I was tired of it (good or bad Spielberg movies are some of the most easily digestible movies for me) but because it felt like a good time to stop and give my brain some space to do other things. I think I ended up really enjoying the movie this way even though the first 3rd is easily the best. I think it's a Watchcast top 25 at least... Curious to dip in and see which moments sparked the most derision amongst you.
