| I, ROBOT |
 2004 - USADirector: Alex Proyas
- Reviewed by Vickie
I don't know anything about it, beyond having a vague idea of the plot, and I therefore have no clue whether the movie I, Robot is, as some purists are currently screaming, a complete bastardization of Asimov's work. I'm just reviewing the movie—which, in its defense, says in its credits that it is "suggested by," not "based on," Asimov's book—as a stand-alone project. And you know what? I, reviewer, really liked it. Set in Chicago in 2035, the film finds technophobe Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith)—who owns things like "vintage" Converse sneakers from 2004 and a stereo that works by remote, not voice control—probing the apparent suicide of Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell). Lanning was the genius behind the U.S. Robotics corporation and its line of robots. See, in this story, robots are kind of like a mechanical slave race—they serve as wait staff, delivery bots, cleaners, nannies and a myriad of other positions. They're strong, reliable and are governed by the Three Laws which are hardwired into their mainframes and, in summary, basically state that they are never to harm human beings. They don't talk back and they follow orders to the letter, so who wouldn't want one? Well, Spooner, for starters. He doesn't trust robots and suspects that one in particular (voiced by Firefly's Alan Tudyk) may have committed murder and killed his creator, Lanning... especially when it shows signs of having emotions, and the first one it displays is anger. But the pieces of the puzzle don't fit together at all. The robot says he's innocent and hints at some hidden secret. Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), a USR staffer specializing in making the robots more human, agrees and defiantly refuses to believe otherwise. The shifty head of USR (Bruce Greenwood) wants to quash any negative publicity that his machines might "snap" before his company rolls out its massive shipment of NS5 model robots. These new machines are sleeker, flashier, stronger and stronger, and would replace the older, clunkier (and, dare I say it, cuter!) versions currently out in the world. For him, silence is golden and he does his best to thwart Spooner's relentless investigation. Of course, for Spooner, this smacks of a cover-up. [Now, if we've learned one thing about movie robots over the years, it's... what? Anyone? Show of hands? That's right. It's that, if left to their own devices, robots do bad things and try to take over humanity. Witness The Matrix. The Terminator films. And don't forget good ole' HAL.] The remainder of the film is an action-packed whodunit (or, maybe, whatdunit?), as Spooner and Calvin uncover all sorts of devious little plans from humans and robots alike. Plenty of details wind up lost in the shuffle, but things click along at such a pace that you forget you wanted to know what that picture on Lanning's desk means, or what happened to the cat, or why Shia LaBoeuf is literally only in the movie for about two and a half minutes. The special effect are, for the most part, impressive... though the Chicago cityscape looks painfully fake, and a few of the "marauding robots!" sequences are too CGI for their own good. The robots look like they don't actually have weight—the same problem experienced by producers of The Hulk and their CGI leading man last summer. Despite the presence of big-screen vets Smith and Moynahan, the best performance in the film comes from Alan Tudyk as the lead robot, "Sonny"—and he isn't even onscreen. He gives Sonny such depth and heart that you can't help but believe he's a real boy. Chi McBride also provides some gruff supporting humor as Spooner's lieutenant, who grumbles and groans and sighs like so many movie lieutenants before him. Again, purists may scoff at I, Robot as empty-headed Hollywood fluff, but for the uninitiated or the curious, or just those in search of some sci-fi entertainment, it fits the bill. It's got action, comedy, explosions, stunts, special effects, danger, plot twists, Will Smith and some needlessly elaborate sequences... just like any good summer blockbuster should. |
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I need to preface this review by saying: I have not read Isaac Asimov's
book, "I, Robot."
