A Masterpiece!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

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.

This is more than an exploration of a kid with a robot "brain", there's a subtle message here of what it's like being a kid when you're a little different than everyone else.People treat you oddly, sometimes even fearfully, inquisitively, or with rude insensitivity …so you learn to fit in by acting like everyone else (even though deep down your just like everyone else).This movie's message is about acceptance of our wunderkinds, our Asperger kids, our Autistic savants and anyone who sees the world a bit differently; underneath it all a kid is still a kid.As a somewhat inquisitive bookworm when I was young, I could relate with Daryl, as dealing with other kids was always a little awkward; still I wanted the love, friendship & commeratory just like everyone else.Not a perfect film, but a decent one with high ideals & a nice happy ending.

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.

Yeh this film is not Oscar material but what it does I believe it does well.I grew up watching this film and I love it dearly.I love movies about robots for some reasons A.I,I am Robot,Terminator even the TV show Small Wonder I used to watch but Daryl is a nice family film and its different from the typical sci fi movie.The first half of the movie you don't even know DARYL is Robot , you would think he's just a genius it's only in the other half of the film were you get the full Truth,it's like two film in one the first half is a family comedy/Drama the other is Action/sci-fi.It's very 80s but I think that's what make this film charming,it has a great nostalgia value to it (Well for people in their 20's at least). Barett Oliver(DARYL) was very talented and most of all he was natural. I love this film,it's one of the greatest kids film of the 80s for me,I'll place it between "the Goonies" and "Flight of the navigator". I'll give it a 8 out of 10.