Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

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.

A couple of minutes into D.A.R.Y.L. the gentle musical theme by Marvin Hamlisch sets the mood very well. This movie shows us an America that many of us know. Neighborhoods and friendship and family. Except for the increased technology (vital to the story's plot) this could be set in the 50's or the 30's, or any time. Barret Oliver plays the role with a straight-forward, eyes open quality. His character understands that the needs of those around him must be understood. His friend Turtle helps him in this. The acting by the children is fun to watch because it seems real. The adults are also very good in their parts. I could criticize minor plot points, but I think that would only take attention away from a film that might bring value to viewers. I think one can emerge from this film with more than just "warm and fuzzy" feelings. There are things to be considered that might find their way into jaded "modern" minds.The movie finishes with a boy running into the arms of home. And the song that plays is perfect.

OK, this is a B movie. It has B actors and B content. It isn't difficult to find almost every 'early 1980s' craze in this movie...the computer craze...the secret defense experiment craze...the super military airplane craze...the children adventure/lampoon craze...of which one can find better examples, but not combined into one individual product like this. It gets B actors but it doesn't want to go farther, and thus the result is much more enjoyable than bigger budget products with bigger budget actors. In this, actors really blend together and give a 'real' feeling...even in AAA+ theater productions there may be moments viewers guess it's just make-believe. Computers? HAHA! The 1980s! The computer in Turtle's sister's room is the same I had back then! Of course now every $19.99 cellphone is likely to be more technologically advanced... Good, entertaining, mild family movie in which the sci-fi element serves as mere bait. Recommended.

Simon Wincer has kept his film "D.A.R.Y.L." plain and simple, which makes for a surprisingly enjoyable, light fantasy-adventure pic about an extremely gifted young boy whose severe memory loss finds him in a foster home while he awaits word of his real parents.The script from David Ambrose, Allan Scott and Jeffrey Ellis never gets too in-depth (ideal for the kids), complicated nor conscientious, and the message is very straight forward. This ensures the movie will never become trite nor ridiculous, but its pure simplicity also guarantees it will never be an ingenious techno-thriller either. The middle ground Wincer finds is pleasant enough.As a matter of fact everything about "D.A.R.Y.L." - both the film and the character - is just plain nice, with an easy music score from Marvin Hamlisch and an agreeable cast including Mary Beth Hurt and Michael McKean (two actors we don't see enough of - you may remember Hurt in "The World According to Garp" as Robin Williams' wife), Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp, Josef Sommer and Barret Oliver as "Daryl".Tuesday, February 11, 1997 - Video

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.