20 Movies That Are Flawed Masterpieces

3. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

It's not exactly surprising that A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a motion picture project started by Stanley Kubrick and finished by none other than Steven Spielberg, has become something of a poster boy for that of the flawed masterpiece. It feels, after all, like an awkward hodgepodge shared between the two directors - Kubrick's cold and clinical perfectionism clashing with Spielberg's tendency to linger in sentiment.

In fact, it was the other way round. It was Kubrick who imagined the cuter aspects of A.I., and Spielberg who implemented the hardened edge - at least, according to the latter. But despite its obvious flaws (many of which are related to the conflicted tone), A.I. Artificial Intelligence is about as interesting a movie to debate and discuss as there ever has been. That's not all that surprisingly, given that this sci-fi film - which stars Haley Joel Osment as a robot boy named David - is essentially a picture that asks: "What would happen if Kubrick and Spielberg directed a movie together?"

A.I. was met with mixed reviews when it was first released, of course, but slowly those critics who were initially against the film are emerging from the woodwork, their opinions changed. Critic Mark Kermode even apologised to Spielberg during an interview. "I love A.I., I got it wrong," he said, citing his original, negative review. Damn straight.