And there are a lot of positive reviews here, like the one from "divya," but look closer. She also gave five stars to superman and the matrix movies. This movie is exactly the same kind of tripe as those, just pure fluff. If you like those, you'll like this. Maybe you'd like to buy the little dolls and toys that accompany such movies. Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to get one in your next happy-meal.


Hot-wired   July 20, 2004
 25 out of 29 found this review helpful

I Robot takes place in the year 2035, when robots have taken over many of civilization's functions. In order to ensure their safe coexistence with people, all robots are hardwired with the "three laws" - core programs that prevent them from harming, or allowing harm to come to, humans. That's not enough for Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith), though, who has his own reason to distrust robots. When a prominent scientist (James Cromwell) is found dead of an apparent suicide, Spooner quickly comes to believe it was actually murder - perpetrated by a new generation robot who calls himself Sonny (Alan Tudyk). Spooner's investigation is resisted by U.S. Robotics, the corporation that made Sonny and is on the eve of rolling out millions more like him. As the clock ticks toward the rollout, Spooner fights the corporation and his own department to unlock Sonny's secret and avert a worldwide calamity. He is reluctantly aided by Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynihan), a scientist who specializes in robot behavior.

As summer blockbuster seasons go, this one has been quite good. In addition to the terrific Shrek 2, Harry Potter, and Spider-Man 2, we've been treated to a flawed-but-interesting Troy and a not at all bad King Arthur. With the possible exception of The Day After Tomorrow, there hasn't been a mutt in the pack. Even documentaries are filling auditoria this year. And now we have I Robot, a much better film than most critics expected. If The Bourne Supremacy is this good, I may have to leave IT for good and see if I can get a job as a projectionist somewhere.

I Robot makes an interesting comparison with Steven Spielberg's 2002 opus Minority Report. Both involve troubled cops in a near-future world who buck their own departments to investigate crimes that technology should have rendered impossible. Spielberg's movie is more visionary, and perhaps more involved with complex moral questions. But it's also ultimately cold and uninvolving. I Robot is more engaging, more visceral, far more conventional - and a lot more fun.

That's partly due to the charismatic Will Smith, who is at his wisecracking best here. With his sleepy, laid-back delivery and brawny athleticism, Smith is the perfect foil to the creepy mechanical sleekness of the robots - and their spokesman, the billionaire chairman of U.S. Robotics (Bruce Greenwood).

The other real star of the movie is Sonny. Voiced by Tudyk and brought to life by great CGI, Sonny is a complex adolescent of a robot. In a wonderful scene where Spooner interrogates him, we watch the robot's deferential, rational demeanor unravel in the face of the detective's deliberate insults and accusations. Later, when Sonny is about to be "decommissioned", we are moved by his obliquely-expressed fear and sadness. It's a very nice performance.

The film's other performers also turn in uniformly good roles - notably Greenwood, Moynihan as the robot psychologist, and Chi McBride as Spooner's boss. Special effects are what you would expect from a big budget sci-fi thriller (and more).

If you like a good action film, better hurry on out and see this one. With so many good movies floating around, who knows when another one will come along to replace it?


Offensively inappropriate use of the title and reputation...   July 7, 2004
 23 out of 30 found this review helpful

Isaac Asimov wrote the robot stories collected in the I, Robot book for the express purpose of debunking the traditional killer robot potboilers that were the stock in trade of the pulps.
In creating the Three Laws of Robotics Asimov wanted to make the point that robots are machines, just like cars and lawnmowers, and as such can and will be designed to do their assigned job and nothing else.
As such he became the god-father of the real world science of robotics and ensured that when we do build autonomous robots, they will be exactly what he said they would be because only an idiot builds an AI that can turn against you.
To appropriate the title of his work and apply it to yet another Frankstein-complex potboiler is a slap in the face to anybody who appreciates and respects the memory of the author and his work, and to those seeking to realize his vision.
The producers of this misconceived project will not earn one cent from me, ever.
Anybody who ever read an Asimov book or story and wishes to discourage this kind of Hollywood demolition would be well-advised to stay away from the theaters.
Whatever this movie ultimately turns out to be; I, Robot it isn't.

Asimov deserves better.
For shame.


In the futuristic world of Isaac Audi, I mean, Asimov   August 10, 2004
 23 out of 42 found this review helpful

I, Robot is a movie about a cop who wears Converse brand sneakers and drives an Audi. Pain is a daily part of his life; something he considers while he showers while listening to his JVC stereo system, or occasionally while sipping a cold Tecate at a bar.

Also, there are robots.

The robots at one point attack his Audi, but fortunately, they make sure to turn on their 'evil mode' light first. Well, that, and they are no match for Will Smith's snappy dialog. They're robots.

(In all seriousness, this was a mediocre action flick with whiz-bang special effects. Rent or go see it if you have hours to kill, and are into that sorta thing, which I am from time to time. Product Placement Rating: 8 of 10)