I, Robot Movie Review:


I, Robot is a futuristic thriller that is tangled and confused on what it wants to be. The film struggles back and forth from attempting to be a smart, dark, serious sci-fi film or a popcorn blockbuster full of one-liners from Will Smith.

Even with a flawed script, what does save the film is the creative direction by Alex Proyas, who was the man behind the obscure worlds of The Crow and Dark City.

Taking place in Chicago during 2035, technology has advanced to where “robots” (Automated Domestic Assistants) live among everyday families. The C-4’s are machines that walk the dogs, clean the house, cook, or whatever is needed of them. The technological robots were developed and distributed by USR (U.S. Robotics), who are now on the brink of distributing thousands of new and improved robot prototypes called C-5’s. Once distributed, one out of every five humans will have an amicable C-5 in their homes. The robots are specifically detailed and follow “The Three Laws of Robotics.”

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Del Spooner (Will Smith) is a homicide detective that has a history with the robotic race and is appalled by their place in society. Spooner is much like the Harrison Ford character in Blade Runner, just cockier. After being called to an apparent suicide scene of USR’s robotic creator, Dr. Alan Lanning (James Cromwell), Spooner begins to think that foul play was involved. USR’s money hungry owner, Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood), reminds the detective of how wrong he is. Intent on his instincts and with the assistant of the USR’s robotic psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), Spooner is attacked by a robot he finds hiding in Lanning’s office. Without supposedly being able to feel emotions or make their own decisions, this robot named Sonny (Alan Tudyk) can and is the key to a larger secret that no one but Spooner sees coming. Of course, knowing of his demise for robots, everyone deems him as wrong and concludes that Sonny is just a defected robot.

Proyas futuristic Chicago is full of terrific production designs and special effects that make it more the setting more dimensional that first envision. The live-action special effects in this film are wonderful, and it is still amazing the steps that digital effects are taking. Sonny, who is totally computer-generated, is no Gollum, but still a solid example of the CGI advances of the last five years.

The action sequences in the film are for the most part well staged and exciting. The best being an underground tunnel car crash extravaganza, in which hundreds of robots begin attacking Spooner’s futuristic Audi. However, for every action sequence or critical moment in this film, the audience has to hear an another annoying one-liner from Will Smith. He talks his mouth off even when the robots are attacking his car. This is a big problem in I, Robot and to make matters worse the script is not that great. We have all heard this futuristic story before of what we make will evolve and revolt, and it has been done a lot better before (The Terminator, Minority Report, and Blade Runner).

The script by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman moves from action sequence to action sequence, but is so loose that the surprises of the film are obvious way before they are revealed. The characters are also one-dimensional and vastly underdeveloped; including Shia LaBeouf’s wasted five-minute role. The unbalance comes into play, when the film is serious, then in the next sense it is a bonehead blockbuster with Will Smith doing his usual thing.

Proyas saves the film with his whimsical direction, even though he should have scratched a lot of Smith’s dialogue. Smith was in fact executive producer on the film, so that is why cutting of his lines probably did not happen. The film is a beauty to look at, and it is overall enjoyable to watch due to the director’s craft and vision. His camerawork also gives the film a little more spice, including spinning vertically around and around during the climatic finale. Even with the flair of a filmmaker like Alex Proyas, the script’s tendencies and lack of balanced structure hurt the film from being a true winner.

Will Smith has a likeable charisma and the camera loves him, but a role like Spooner does not call for his usual Men in Black antics. His emotional and anger-filled scenes in the film are fine, but the choice to unleash his comedy does bring the film down. Bridget Moynahan is pretty wooden throughout the entire film as Dr. Calvin, even though she does get to take out some robots in the last twenty minutes. James Cromwell is significant in his small role as the murdered Dr. Alan Lanning and Bruce Greenwood does his common slimeball routine as the questionable Robertson. Chi McBride arises in a role he has played over and over again as Spooner’s concerned boss. Lastly, Alan Tudyk, who recently played Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball, provides the movement and voice of the robot Sonny.

I, Robot has miscalculations, but is still at times fun to watch. Alex Proyas makes the film a lot better than what the script gives him to work with. If the film had chosen one set genre path, either as an expensive futuristic thriller or a pure popcorn blockbuster, either would have been more acceptable.

Grade: C+

Joseph Tucker

I, Robot

By Dean Kish

Embargoed until July 15

Director Alex Proyas, helmer of such cult favorites as “Dark City” and “The Crow”, steps into the Hollywood limelight with his first attempt at a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster.

“I, Robot” chronicles the life of Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) who has a techno-phobic view of the world’s newest appliance, a life-like robot created by the world’s leading technology giant US Robotics. A link in Spooner’s past is linked to his phobia of the automaton movement sweeping the nation. According to US Robotics, there will be eventually 1 robot to every 5 humans.

Spooner is called to the offices of US Robotics when a leading scientist (James Cromwell), with a secret link to Spooner, has apparently committed suicide. His death seems to have mysterious circumstances which could link to a robot. With man’s complete trust in the new robot technology, it seems too ludicrous to every one except Spooner.

As the mystery deepens, Spooner unravels the very fabric of the robotic giant, locks horns with CEO Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood) and learns more about his automated enemy with the aid of scientist Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan). Through the course of these events he may learn more than he could ever imagine.

It is hard to defend a film like “I, Robot” but I am going to try. For sci-fi purists, Isaac Asimov’s legendary work about the robot and how he will intricate into our society has filled the minds of readers for over 50 years. But the similarities between the film presented here and his work are few and far between. Kind of like last week’s release of Jerry Bruckheimer’s “King Arthur”. Both films take sacred subject matter and re-invent it with a new twist. I would have to say that “I. Robot” is better in a lot ways.

At the core of “I, Robot” beats the soul of Asimov as his 3 laws regarding robots are sacredly left intact and the film does abide by them. Also a lot of the characters have similar names to the people in the text. It is almost like taking Star Trek’s “prime directive” and some of the now classic characters and setting them in a new idea of the future. The core is left intact but in some ways it has been updated and refreshed.

The story, special effects and extremely zealous direction, however, all seem to be brought forth by the collaborators who cobbled this film together. There are influences of “Robocop”, “Short Circuit”, “Blade Runner” and even the classic comic-book series “Magnus: Robot Fighter”. Each of these robot influences echo back to what makes “I Robot” so intriguing, a joy to watch and memorable.

Sure the story does have a lot of sci-fi influences and clichés aside from robot films including “Star Wars” and “Planet of the Apes” but don’t these benchmark sci-fi films influence everything coming down the turnpike these days. It even has the classic sci-fi cliché of the social outcast claiming there is an invasion coming except no one believes him. But that is not what should bring us into the film.

You really need to give credit to director Alex Proyas because it is his magic as a filmmaker that holds this film together. He knows where to play it straight and where to let his lead actor bring on the charm. Also you really have to admire the man’s technical ability. His brilliant inter-laying of robots into the photography is astounding. Proyas is an A-list director in the making and “I, Robot” shows that he can deliver a big Hollywood film.

I also give credit to Will Smith who starts out being very unapproachable with his character but as the film goes we really become fond of his hero. Smith’s Spooner does have a lot of his previous sci-fi heroes inter-laced into Spooner but it comes off as more of a homecoming than an annoyance. In some ways I think Proyas had something to do with that especially in the chase down scene towards the beginning of the film. It almost felt like “Men in Black” again.

As for Smith’s co-stars, Cromwell’s Lanning is a throwaway character used mainly for effect, Moynahan is timid and sometimes robot-like but it is a sturdy performance and Greenwood is menacing and a good match to face off against the rebellious Smith.

The reason I was so fond of “I, Robot” is because for once it was a summer film that didn’t apologize for trying to be entertaining. The special effects, the performances and the direction are all what people want to see in the summer and this film is loads and loads of fun. It is a great giant popcorn film with a light layering of message.

My only small problem with this film was that it is supposed to be set in Chicago in 2035. I didn’t buy it but if it was 2135, then maybe.

Sure the film doesn’t pave new ground but why does every film have to. It is pure summer fun and what is wrong with that.

If you want Asimov and sci-fi purism then you can always read the novels. Stop apologizing and most of all stop belly-aching, just give the film a chance. If you like science fiction films and want to be remembered how much fun they used to be then this picture is the perfect ticket for you.

(4.25 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

This ripping futuristic thriller is one of the more intelligent action films in recent years. It's a thoroughly entertaining combination of strikingly visual direction with strong writing and intriguing performances--three elements that seem to come together very rarely indeed.

In 2035 Chicago, where robots perform all mankind's pesky daily tasks, Del Spooner (Smith) is a detective with robot-phobia, even though there are three strictly enforced laws that ensure safety. When the head of US Robotics (Cromwell) is found dead from an apparent suicide, Spooner naturally suspects something's fishy with the robots. But he his boy-who-cried-wolf reputation isn't going to get him anywhere. Working with a scientist (Moynahan), Spooner is in a race against time to figure out what's up while navigating a minefield that includes his sceptical captain (McBride), a unique robot named Sonny (Tudyk) and an unhelpful executive (Greenwood).

"Suggested" by Isaac Asimov's book, the filmmakers combine intriguing ideas about artificial intelligence with the structures of an action movie, and they get the balance exactly right. The script is especially smart--with a strong narrative, intriguing action sequences and well-defined characters we can grab hold of. It helps that Smith is at his charming best, beefy and offbeat at the same time, carrying us through the story effortlessly. Moynahan holds her own against him, and Tudyk provides the film's emotional centre with a combination of fascinating effects and superb voice work.

The look of the film is wonderfully original--and not so distant that it's not recognisable. This is a realistic take on life 30 years form now, only going over the top in skylines and transport systems that probably couldn't be developed so quickly. This is a gritty, witty version of the future that the characters fit nicely into. And after establishing the people and places so well, the filmmakers are free to develop the film in to a big conspiracy thriller with suspicions everywhere, inventive action set-pieces (only the car-crash sequence is too computer-animated), and lots of clever plot twists and turns. But best of all, this is a story that's actually about something--the soul, free will, revolution. Very cool.

Rich Cline

Chicago 2035, USR are about to have their biggest product rollout with the introduction of their new robot, the NS-5. Things don’t go according to plan when the father of modern robotics Dr. Alfred Lanning (Cromwell) commits suicide. Detective Del Spooner (Smith) is assigned the case and on investigation of the crime scene he finds the only witness to the event, Dr. Lanning’s personal robot Sonny (Tudyk). But the way the robot is acting brings him to think of the impossible. Has a robot actually gone against its programming and actually murdered a human being?

As technology advances and the possibility of robots in every home looks more than likely to become a reality, this movie asks “can we ever truly trust artificial intelligence with our lives?” According to I, Robot answer is a definite no.

The filmmakers have cleverly developed a sci-fi murder mystery based on Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics and this is the major plus point of the movie. This is an event movie with a plot. Now don’t gasp and faint when you read those words but Hollywood might just be waking up to the fact that the viewing public might actually want to have more than just pointless filler between their action sequences. ‘I, Robot’ has the big, explosive special effects events but interweaving them together is a twisting and turning murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the action packed finale. It also stays away from many of the clichéd plotlines of the genre by not making too many statements and just sticking to the one continuous theme, will artificial intelligence be able to evolve?

Besides from the twisty-turny plot, the special effects are magnificent. As technology progresses, filmmakers have the ability to bring anything to life on the big screen but they have to know how to use it. Director Alex Proyas and his team use SFX to the best of its ability to create a believeable vision of the future. 2035 Chicago doesn’t look too advanced with all the technology looking like it is certainly obtainable from the level of advancement we are realising today. Even the robots themselves look plausible. This is a vision of the future that you can see happening very easily and this is what makes the movie so intriguing.

A good plot and amazing visuals are backed up by some good performances. There are two versions of Will Smith, the big budget, overly confident Big Willy (Bad Boys II, Wild, Wild West etc) and the character driven thespian William (Ali, Six Degrees of Separation etc). For this movie we get a combination of the two to create a slightly quieter, more likeable character. Detective Del Spooner is a slightly clichéd movie cop that is a little out of place in this futurist setting but as the story progresses you realise that this is integral to the plot. This is another strength of the movie as the audience easily connects with Smith’s character and you can understand his apprehensiveness against the robots. There are some times that he does get slightly too much but this isn’t enough to deter you from the character. Bridget Moynahan continues to make a name for herself as Dr Susan Calvin. Her character has most of the techno-babble of the piece and she copes with this extremely well. The role might see her as the typical nerd out of the lab during the action sequences but Moynahan really grows into the character as the film progresses. There is also good support from the ever brilliant and totally underrated Bruce Greenwood as USR CEO Lawrence Robinson and Chi McBride as the sceptical Lt. Bergin.

Stealing the show is the performance of Alan Tudyk as Sonny. Done in the much same way as Andy Serkis did with Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Tudyk creates a virtual performance that is replaced by the CG created character. In essence his acting is the framework for bringing Sonny to live. His vocal performance is also first rate, breathing life into Sonny but never making him too childlike or annoying.

I, Robot is first rate Hollywood entertainment. It is brilliant to see that plot is becoming important again in filmmaking and this is a movie that shows that you can mix a complex murder mystery with all the big bangs, SFX and action sequences you expect from a big budget blockbuster. Could Hollywood actually be starting to listen to the viewing public and spending their time just as much as on story as they do on creating the spectacle?

Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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