 Roger Ebert was a strong advocate of the film ; he gave it 3 ½ stars out of four , praising it as a " technical milestone " while conceding that its " nuts and bolts " story lacked " the intelligence and daring of , say , Steven Spielberg 's A.I. " He noted that while he did not once feel convinced Aki Ross was an actual human being , she was " lifelike " , stating her creators " dare us to admire their craft . If Aki is not as real as a human actress , she 's about as human as a Playmate who has been retouched to glossy perfection . " He also expressed a desire for the film to succeed in hopes of seeing more films made in its image , though he was skeptical of its ability to be accepted . Peter Bradshaw gave a more negative review , stating that while the animation was brilliant , the " solemnly realist human faces look shriekingly phoney precisely because they 're almost there but not quite " , concluding " The story is adequate , if familiar , but after half an hour relapses into cliche . " 
