This film is a nostalgia fest for me. Am I being a bit selfish to review a film when I am so connected to it , perhaps so I will try to put my love for the film aside and review it for what it is. This film is part of what I would call the Amblin generation of films (although it is not an Amblin film) because it came out in a decade full of wonderful family films (Goonies,Gremlins,Cocoon,Neverending story etc..) . It was a time when adults could watch a so called kids film and enjoy it as much as their rugrats. D.A.R.Y.L is a family drama with a dash of Sci-Fy , it is two film in one.A heart warming film for the first half and a children Sci Fy thriller in it's second half.These two different style works surprisingly well here. There is something so welcoming about the first half when young D.A.R.Y.L superbly played by child actor Barret Oliver is found in the middle of the wood and put into foster care as a test drive for a couple who desperately want to adopt a child. Here he meet his first friend , potty mouthed Turtle (Yeah he his called Turtle) and learn valuable lessons about how to relate to adults (The kid does not know a thing about being a son) There is just something so incredibly warm and fuzzy about the first half of the movie that makes it the perfect choice for a rainy Sunday afternoon.There is that 80's charm.It is also nice to basically watch a family that enjoy the little thing in life like baseball , Ice cream etc..The suburban setting his welcoming and the 80's vibe will bring as much memories to 80's kids as lets say "The Andy Griffith Show" does for children of the 50's. It was a simpler time and this film shows that. Barret Oliver as D.A.R.Y.L is a great main character , he his curious , oddly different and curiously smart...way too smart. The second half reveal something is different about D.A.R.Y.L and that is when the Sci-Fy elements kicks in. I am not going to say what it is just in case the person who is reading this know nothing about this film (The cover of the DVD reveals way too much unfortunately). This film is a great film for the all family.If you feel to escape the grim reality of life lol you could do far worse then putting this charming film on! I give D.A.R.Y.L a 8 out of 10.

I am fascinated by the 80's. It was a unique generation like we'll never see again. Its culture, its dressing styles and hairstyles, its charm, its lifestyle, its very imaginative and creative TV commercials like we don't see nowadays...The 80's was also one of music's gold generations and brought us some of the best movies of all time, such as "The Neverending Story", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Uncle Buck", "Romancing the Stone", "The Jewel of the Nile", "Herbie Goes Bananas", "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and don't come back!)", "Frankenweenie", "Missunderstood" and "D.A.R.Y.L." itself, without forgetting that it brought us classic TV series such as "Knight Rider", "Family Ties", "MacGyver" and "Miami Vice"."D.A.R.Y.L." is, in my opinion, a very cute little movie. More than that: it is a forgotten film and I'm a bit shocked with its quite low rating! It's too underrated, yet a pretty good movie.This film stars one of the greatest child actors of all time, Barret Oliver. In fact, Barret Oliver is absolutely amazing in this movie and portrays an incredible character: Daryl. In fact, Barret Oliver won a well deserved prize of recognition for his performance in "D.A.R.Y.L." - the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor, an honor also won by Noah Hathaway in "The Neverending Story" and Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense" and "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" (just to name a few examples).Daryl is actually D.A.R.Y.L., an acronym for "Data Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform". Daryl looks very human, despite being a machine. Daryl, however, is the most sophisticated and advanced robot ever created, like a miracle come true.Daryl is blessed with an extraordinary intelligence and amazing abilities. Plus, he's nice, friendly, sweet, cute, lovable and liked by many. He's the kind of boy any parents would like to have as a son and the kind of boy any boy would like to be. Daryl is so different and unique that he can light up an entire room.However, speaking of Daryl's unbelievable abilities, let's see. At school he is even wiser than teachers. He can play baseball like no one else. He can interact with ATM machines and play video games in a way beyond our imagination. He can do house duties in a way that not even housemaids can. He can even pilot a SR-71 Blackbird in the most amazing way possible (this plane scene is just as impressing as those seen in "Top Gun") and is equally blessed with incredible driving skills.Daryl is also a blessing for the Richardsons and gives them a new sense for life. The Foxs (their neighbors) are also very fond of Daryl, even Daryl's hilarious and cheat friend Turtle. By the way, I hope nobody named their kids Turtle in real life, lol. As if being Turtle wasn't enough, he's Fox too, lol.Sherie Lee (Turtle's sister) is pretty. It's funny how her brother really annoys her whenever he keeps calling her certain names. She's well portrayed by Amy Linker. The silly kid Turtle is greatly played by Danny Corkill. Other talents include Mary Beth Hurt as Joyce Richardson, Michael McKean as Andy Richardson, Josef Sommer as the friendly scientist Dr. Jeffrey Stewart, Kathryn Walker as Dr. Ellen Lamb, the actors who portray the Fox couple and others.It's an interesting movie with a heartwarming story. In general, this is a simple and calm movie, being often funny and light-hearted. It also has some action (without overdoing it), drama, emotional and touching moments, fun and entertainment. The concept and the idea of the movie is interesting and the movie is well made, being film-making of quality.The ending is dramatic at first, but turns out to be a happy and fair ending. Daryl is repaired, brought back to life and returns to the Richardsons after a challenging and dangerous journey to escape to the cruelty of the United States Air Force, with generals determined to destroy Daryl and won't allow anyone to free Daryl. Our story has a happy ending.I haven't talked about the soundtrack yet. I like very much the piano solo numbers and Teddy Pendergrass's song "Somewhere I Belong", which can be described as beautiful, nostalgic, relaxing, happy, sad, emotional and fits perfectly in the movie's final scene. The rest of the soundtrack is good too.Despite the fact that "D.A.R.Y.L." can be considered a science fiction movie, it isn't totally fictitious. In my opinion, there's very few of "true" science fiction in this film. For me, this is more of a drama told through a simple but good story with a bit of sci-fi as well, in a combination that works out very well. It has also interesting stuff about artificial intelligence, a very classic sense of humor, nice special effects and a great direction by Simon Wencer. The phrase «A machine becomes human when you can't tell the difference anymore» is very valuable. Should be kept in mind and never forgotten.Overall, this is another great, nostalgic and charming movie from the 80's. Another favorite of mine from that magical decade.This should definitely be on Top 250.

As with each decade movies from the 1980s have a very unique style that cannot be fully described in words but to those individuals who grew up in the era it is unmistakable. A true 1980s film is one that evokes hope, that any dream can truly be achieved, that good will always triumph over evil and that feel good cheesy music, colourful baggy shirts and inappropriate sunglasses will put a smile on your face. Whilst the most memorable 1980s pictures focus on comedy, romance and success (e.g. Ghostbusters, Mannequin, Wall Street etc) there are outliers that go in a different direction but still retain the basic heart of this era: the feel good factor. DARYL tells the story of a seemingly abandoned child who is adjusting to a new life with foster parents, the story takes a twist however when it is revealed that he is really an experiment in artificial intelligence. The target audience is primarily kids and family and such spectators are rewarded with all the necessary ingredients that this movie should have. It successfully touches upon the aspects of life that boys would see as fun when growing up and through DARYL the audience can fantasise about driving in high speed car chases, flying planes, being a star sportsman, video games player and being super smart. What more could a kid want in life? The movie remains engrossing throughout despite a slow pace as a result of a very strong performance by the lead character. DARYL is a thoughtful, touching, interesting and entertaining movie that despite being more than 20 years does not really feel dated (the true sign of any classic). For those who grew up in the 1980s movies like DARYL will always have special meaning as they represent an innocence and hope that sadly most of us lose as we grow older and cynicism kicks in. As a standalone sci fi family film DARYL takes itself seriously whilst knowing how to have fun, is thought provoking and delivers an evening of entertaining escapism for the entire family. After more than 20 years there are few family films being released today that can make the same claim.

There are tons of Spielberg fans out there that remain loyal to him even after his long list of recent trash flicks. Amongst them was 'AI.' 'D.A.R.Y.L.' proves to be one of those movies that shows that the eighties might have actually had more thought process than today. In this do not trust the government movie, Barret Oliver plays a young boy who actually is a robot. The military, who couldn't figure out why they wanted little children robots in the first place, decide to scrap Daryl. Daryl. however, has been foster cared and has no memory of his past. While Barret Oliver's Daryl can't approach the level of success of Peter Billingsley in 'The Dirt Bike Kid.' He manages to play his role with a sympathy that Spielberg just can't get out of people who follow his storyboards. For all those who think that I just utterly hate Spielberg, I do rate 'A.I.' slightly ahead of the tv program 'Small Wonder. '