I Robot (2004)

I ROBOT
Starring Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan,Bruce greenwood, Alan Tudyk.The 2004 Science Fiction Movie "I Robot", was adapted from the Arthur C. Clarke classic Sci Fi Novel. Editorial Reviews; By Amazon.com. As paranoid cop Del Spooner, Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black) displays both his trademark quips and some impressive pectoral muscles in I, Robot. Only Spooner suspects that the robots that provide the near future with menial labor are going to turn on mankind; he's just not sure how. When a leading roboticist dies suspiciously, Spooner pursues a trail that may prove his suspicions.

Don't expect much of a connection to Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction stories;

I, Robot, the action movie, isn't prepared for any ruminations on the significance of artificial intelligence. This likable, efficient movie won't break any new ground, but it does have an idea or two to accompany its jolts and thrills, which puts it ahead of most recent action flicks. Also featuring Bridget Moynahan (The Sum of All Fears), Bruce Greenwood (The Sweet Hereafter), and James Cromwell (Babe, LA Confidential).

Bret Fetzer

Those who grew up, as I did, with Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, and the rest of the SF grandmasters as their constant companions may find this movie too action-oriented, with too little emphasis on ideas, with not enough ratiocination to justify having Asimov's name associated with it. But at the same time, I found this movie to be quite entertaining, in places visually stunning, and, while not following the format or story line of any of the original stories contained in the book I, Robot, does hew fairly closely to the larger story line about robots that Asimov eventually developed in multiple related books. The original book was based upon the then (1940) unheard of idea that robots, rather than being creatures prone to run amock and destroy their creators, would be constructed with built-in laws that would not only make them safe, but a great boon to all humanity. The stories were careful little logic mysteries, dealing with the potential problems that can occur when there are conflicts between the governing three laws, the situation, and commands given the robot. Will Smith plays a detective here, one who does not trust robots, who is afraid there is something decidedly wrong about these powerful and nearly ubiquitous machines which are driven only by logic, without any trace of emotion to leaven their choices. Clearly this places him on the wrong side of general (and his commanding Lieutenant's) opinion. But nevertheless he is called upon to investigate the apparent suicide of Dr. Lanning, co-founder and chief scientist of USR (Asimov's name was U. S. Robotics, but that has since been used by a real company). Susan Calvin (played by Bridget Moynahan), the company robo-psychologist, is assigned to help him with his investigation. Early suspicion falls on Sonny, a prototype NS5 robot, as possibly having something to do with Dr. Lanning's death. The story line through this early portion of the movie is decidedly Asimovian in nature, leading me to believe that it really would follow the type of story construction contained in the original book. But later sections of the movie take it far beyond the problems of one robot, and into the realm of management of human society for a greater good, a theme that Asimov did tackle in later stories. It's almost as if this movie crammed about six different Asimov stories into this one, with a decidedly uneasy result: part action, part mystery, part character study, part utopian/dystopian world image, but none fully developed. Will is OK in this part, although there are a couple of places where his actions are decidedly unbelievable (pin-point accuracy shooting two revolvers from a motorcycle that has just bounced into the air?), and there are a couple of times when he doesn't seem to be totally comfortable in the detective role. The portrayed character of Dr. Calvin, though, came as a shock, as the depiction by Ms. Moynahan here is almost the antithesis of Asimov's Calvin. For those who have never read Asimov, her portrayal is good, with just enough mixture of clinical logic and overboard emotionality to be fairly convincing - but the clash with my mental picture of Calvin as dry, unemotional, and not conventionally pretty made it difficult for me to truly evaluate this performance. James Cromwell as Dr. Lanning was almost perfect, though a very small role. Sonny the robot is played (or at least voiced) beautifully by Alan Tudyk, and the CGI work here is excellent - in many ways this character steals the show. A mixed bag: better than average visuals, some decent acting, even a plot line that at least understands the original book material (no sure thing when it comes to Hollywood understanding real science fiction); but a lack of cohesiveness, action for action's sake, and some ideas not fully developed. Better than the normal Hollywood attempt at adapting an SF classic, good for a couple hours of entertainment, but not a great movie. Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)


Horus Review - I believe that the main difference between the book and the film is thae fact that the 3 laws of Robotics are not held as the central theme of the movie, whereas the elthical debate stirred by this concept in the novels by Arthur C. Clarke does. And extremely so. Not only the soul of the machine is questioned in this movie; but also the Human being. Are we really anything different from a machine. The Soft Machine by William Burroughs came into my mind often during this film, if that may seem a little absract. (you can always investigate the word Soft machine on the www).