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| Year: 2004 |
| Director: Alex Proyas |
| Cast: Bridget Moynahan, Will Smith, Alan Tudyk, James Cromwell, Bruce Greenwood, Chi McBride |
| Genres: Thriller, Science Fiction, Action |
| Runtime: 115 min. |
| IMDB: This film on IMDB |
| Soundtrack: available |
| Wallpapers: available |
| Plot: It's the year 2035, and the community now has the help of robots. These robots have three laws integrated into their system. One, they cannot harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Two, they must do whatever they're told by a human being as long as such orders don't conflict with law one. Three, they have to defend themselves as long as such defense doesn't conflict with laws one or two. One day, the writer of the three laws, Alfred Lanning, apparently jumps out of the tenth-floor window of U.S. Robotics. The majority of the Chicago Police Department believe that he committed suicide, but Detective Del Spooner (Smith), who hates robots, thinks he was murdered, and the number one suspect is a Nestor Class-5 robot who calls himself Sonny. However, if it was Sonny, then that means he would've had to have broken the three laws. With the help of Dr. Susan Calvin, Spooner must now discover the truth before it's too late. |
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I, Robot comments / review |
| Date: 2008-01-20 02:33:00 |
User: |
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. So Says the Soothsayer. |
| Date: 2009-12-20 12:09:28 |
User: PostFilm |
"Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today--but the core of science fiction, its essence, the concept around which it revolves, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all." --Isaac Asimov
American author and biochemist Isaac Asimov did not invent robots or stories about robots, but he did help to popularize them and to codify their fictional behavior. His 1950 collection of short stories, "I, Robot," has been the template for robotic conduct for over half a century and has influenced practically every novel, short story, and movie about robots ever since.
Asimov invented what he called the now-famous "Three Laws of Robotics":
"One, a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Two, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Three, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws."
So, what does any of this have to do with the 2004 summer blockbuster, "I, Robot," starring summer blockbuster favorite Will Smith? Well, there's Asimov's title. And the three laws. And there are robots. And robots. And more robots.
However, despite the increased silliness of the plot as the story goes along, in its first half the movie develops as a nifty mystery thriller, and in its second half the special effects replace logic and common sense to produce a fairly entertaining piece of weightless fluff. Nobody is going to mistake this future noir for Spielberg's "Minority Report," but for a light-headed adrenaline rush, it works pretty well.
The setting for the story is Chicago in the year 2035. It's near enough in the future that the filmmakers don't have to go too wild with their imaginations inventing things. On the other hand, a lot of the visible landscape and props appear remarkably like our own. Matte paintings and CGI magic transform today's Chicago into a city several decades in the future, but a few inconsistencies remain. Alarm clocks, television sets, and electric fans look pretty much as they do now, something I would seriously doubt. The main character wears vintage 2004 Converse All-Star tennis shoes, which he prizes, although there is no indication how or why he got them brand-new. Electronic equipment abounds in everybody's office, but hard metal and plastic furniture seems too uncomfortable to sit in. And the silver Audi automobile of the future the main character drives is suspiciously like my own silver 350Z. Oh, well, I quibble. Their cars float on air. Say, now that I think of it, doesn't mine?
Will Smith plays homicide detective Del Spooner, a typical movie cop who mopes around his apartment like Steve McQueen in "Bullitt," has an attitude like Richard Roundtree in "Shaft," and dresses like Denzel Washington in "Training Day." His commanding officer barks at him constantly, and, of course, he eventually has his badge taken away from him for disobeying orders. As though these clichés weren't enough, Smith's performance is more laid back than usual and his witticisms are less frequent than they were in, say, "ID4" or "Men in Black." He seems caught between trying to play his character straight or for mild laughs. Since the movie is mostly straight drama, he goes for the former, but the script is so far out he has little room for much seriousness. So he straddles a tightrope and only occasionally falls off into melodrama or unintentional humor.
The world of 2035 is served by robots, manufactured by the U.S. Robotics Corporation, whose head is Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood), the richest man in the world. Shades of Bill Gates. The robots are programmed to follow the three laws cited above, so they cannot, under any circumstance, hurt a human. And everything is controlled by a central computer called V.I.K.I., for Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence, which cannot allow any mischief among the robots anywhere. Yet, when the father of robotics, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), is found dead from a high fall in the central foyer of the USR headquarters building, Spooner is not so certain it's the suicide it appears to be. Spooner is suspicious of robots in general, having a long-standing prejudice against them verging on paranoia. He believes that robots may have had something to do with Lanning's death.
No one else is buying it, though. Not Robertson, not Spooner's superior, Lt. Bergin (Chi McBride), and not the beautiful psychiatrist for USR, Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), whose job it is to program the robots to make them seem more human. Why are all female doctors and scientists in the movies beautiful? And why does Bridget Moynahan remind me of Sandra Bullock?
Here's the thing: The U.S. Robotics Corp. is trying to replace all their outmoded NS-4 model robots with new NS-5 models, the newer creations being smarter and more human appearing. The company believes that before the end of the year, there will be one new NS-5 "for every five humans." Every five humans in Chicago? In the United States? In the world? I dunno.
In any case, Spooner starts to investigate, and before long he's engaged in a full-fledged mystery adventure. This part of the story develops with some good suspense, as Spooner finds the clues adding up to something more than suicide. He even finds that an NS-5 robot (Alan Tudyk) who calls himself "Sonny" may be involved in the case, a robot with surprisingly humanlike emotions. (Among other things, the robot claims to dream.) Unfortunately, there is in the first half of the movie more than a little of the old "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" element, too, in that the more Spooner uncovers about the involvement of robots in a gigantic conspiracy, the more nobody will believe him. It's cute and clever at first, but it begins to grate after a while. And the idea of Lanning having fallen from the window of a locked room seems a plot device that's a bit threadbare. |
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