I, Robot (Full Screen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Will Smith is a Great Star
Review: As a typical Summer popcorn flick, I Robot should be familiar to any regular moviegoer. It plays like a highlight reel of many android/smart computer movier of the past 25 years. The actual short story collection serves as little more than a vaguely familiar name to hang the whole enterprise on to lend it an air of legitimacy. I'm pretty sure Asimov would have been appalled by this movie just as Homer would have been appalled by Brad Pitt's Troy. In I Robot, little tiny bits of the short stories are mixed with The Matrix, The Animatrix, the 1st 2 Terminator movies, the 2 MIBs, Minority Report, Blade Runner, the original Star wars trilogy, 2001 and A.I, among others. Will Smith proves that he is just about the most charming, likable and talented actor working today by his ability to hold this movie stew together. He's great, the CGI is great and the action is fun. Worth the ticket price if you don't expect arthouse cinema.

Rating:
Summary: Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot"
Review: First of all, anyone who thinks this a prequel or rip-off of The Matrix is painfully mistaken. This is based on the book that actually inspired practically every robot story since the 1950's including Terminator, Blade Runner and yes, The Matrix trilogy. The original book consisted of several short stories telling of the evolution of robots and mankind over the timespan of several hundred years. This film has taken all the elements from all of these stories, mashed them together, and created a single story set in the not too distant future. Under the direction of brilliant director Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City) I have high confidence that this will be a visually stunning film. Casting Will Smith in the lead role wasnt my first choice but I'll give him a chance. Its sad to think that most viewers wont go into the effort of learning that this story is actually 50 years old and will just call it a rip-off robot movie. For anyone whose seen the trailer, who know it looks awesome, for those of you who havent, go to quicktime.com and watch it now!!!

Rating:
Summary: I was impressed!
Review: I don't know what movie Roger Ebert saw but I, Robot was fantastic. Bad Boys 2 was dumb and had no brain. Here Will Smith gets to actually act and does a fine job too. He a plays a cop who lives in the future but doesn't live by the new technology. He hates robots and thinks people made a big mistake by trusting them. When the creator (James Cromwell) of robots commits suicide. Smith thinks that he was murdered by a robot who names himself Sonny.

Don't get me wrong, Will Smith is good in this movie but it still belongs to Sonny. He's an awesome character and steals the show. Before the movie was over, I found myself caring more about his character than Will Smith's. It's funny too because he's just a CGI character. His expressions are flawless and I don't know how Roger Ebert or anyone wouldn't find him to be cool. The robots here are a lot more cooler and more lively than the droids in the StarWars prequels that's for sure.

The movie is some-what slow but that's because it's a sci-fi mystery. Ebert & Roeper talked about it like it was predictible and that you can see things cooming. I didn't find it that way at all though. I found it fascinating and un-predictable. Ebert missed out on enjoying a really good and fun science fiction movie. I hope that it gets the audience it deserves and the appreciation it deserves from audiences though. They really are missing out if they see it the way Ebert did, that's for sure.

Rating:
Summary: WILL SMITH AT HIS ELECTRIFYING BEST!!!!
Review: I got the chance to see this movie on opening day and I've got to admit that I wasn't disappointed at all. The action was simply incredibly fast paced, the special effects were fun and interesting to watch with their artistic style, and though the acting might've dragged at SOME points, this was a very original film with a very original storyline. (Though it kind of reminded me of "The Terminator" series. I wonder why???) I'd also have to say that this is possibly Will Smith's best performance to EVER be seen on the BIG SCREEN!

In a distant future of 2035, an incorporation is making and releasing robots who care and obey their masters. But one robot named "Sonny" has somehow discovered the secret to feeling emotion and tries to escape the facilities in hopes of discovering who (or what) he is, after his master Dr. Alfred Lanning mysteriously dies. Will Smith plays a Chicago cop named Del Spooner (Funny name) who finds a hating towards robots after experiencing a tragic accident involving one a long time ago.

After capturing Sonny and taking the cyborg in for questioning, an even greater conspiracy unfolds where the other robot copies begin going haywire and wreck havoc on the city. Now, it's up to agent Spooner with the help of Dr. Susan Calvin (with a so-so performance by Bridget Moynahan) to find the source to why the robots have gone bad. The climatic ending will leave you spellbound in its amazing glory that goes to show that even the machines we create sometimes need freedom as well.

My favorite part about this whole film especially was when agent Spooner is doing battle with the robots while driving his car through an underground tunnel. (it along with the last battle scene had the most action!) It was truly breathtaking and awesome!! However, every other part about the movie was just as good and though the plot can be a little slow moving at times, it definately picks up later with all the non-stop action and thrills! But strangely that Sonny claims that he can feel emotion in this movie, if I were the creators of the film I would've called it, "I, Android", because only androids can feel, eat, and sleep like humans compared to robots. (They are both very different creations) Of course, maybe Sonny was different amoung the rest. Still, this movie makes a gr8t treat and never ceases to disappoint! If you're looking for a grade-A sci-fi flick with plenty of action and eye-popping special effects, see one of the hottest movies of the summer, "I, Robot"! IT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY!!!

Rating:
Summary: Still engaging despite its schizophrenic tendencies
Review: I haven't read the short stories by Isaac Assimov upon which I, Robot (the movie) is based, although I'm peripherally familiar with them in their relation to modern science fiction robots and androids. I am familiar with The Fresh Prince - errr, Will Smith. And I'm a big fan of Alex Proyas' previous films, including The Crow and Dark City. A thinking man's movie teamed with a lovable action hero. You can't go wrong...can you?

I, Robot takes place in the near future, a future that looks lot like Minority Report and A.I. Everything is automated to such a degree that travel has become more dangerous than before. For example, cars travel so fast, it's unsafe for a human (instead of an artificial intelligence) to drive one. Permeated throughout this society is one brand of robot-a mobilized servant workforce. They only mimic people in their humanoid shape; expressionless round eyeholes, a slit for a mouth, and a smooth body.

Enter Will Smith's character, Detective Spooner. Calling him Spooner is pointless, because Smith's personality is indelibly printed on the movie. He is urban, hip, and in incredibly good shape. He also has a dark secret that makes him prejudiced against robots. No one brings up the irony of a black American being prejudiced against a robot - Proyas probably considered it too crass.

The next generation of robots, the NS5, is about to be launched. It's a smoother, friendlier robot with facial features that look a lot like people. The effect is startling, as they are clearly made of plastic - it's like watching an iMac come to life. Enter Sonny, a robot present at the supposed suicide of his creator, Dr. Alfred Lanning. Spooner is called by Lanning's communicator, which leads him on a trail of breadcrumbs to find the truth behind Dr. Lanning's death and the new robots.

I, Robot talks a lot about the three laws and their application. It also has a lot in common with films that have paid their own particular tribute to Asimov's work, including the Matrix (the robot revolution started with a murder). VIKI, the artificial intelligence that runs much of the city's systems, harkens back to one of my favorite movies: Colossus: The Forbin Project. There's not much new in I, Robot.

But it doesn't matter. Spooner is a sane man in a world gone mad, a world that has willingly given itself over to automation. The timing of the movie is perfect; cries of outsourcing have given way to the uncomfortable realization that "optimization" (read: computers and robots) are the reason our manual workforce is suffering.

I, Robot resembles science fiction movies from the 1950s filled with marching robots and legions slavishly devoted to communal good with one important difference: fear of communism has been replaced by the fear of outsourcing. Indeed, the prejudice against the more mathematically precise robots echoes the prejudices against outsourced countries with better educations that are willing to work for much less. The NS4 robots are unfailingly polite and cheerfully perform the worst drudgery. What happens when we no longer know how to do the drudgery ourselves? Or to put it another way...what happens when a first world country becomes so dependent on the predatory labor force of others that it can no longer take care of itself?

Revolution, that's what. Now, we're no longer afraid of Big Brother...we ARE Big Brother, afraid of losing control of everyone else. I, Robot hits a perfect note in that regard.

And yet, nothing else is sacred. There is a love-fest over Smith's shoes, which actually get more screen time than some characters. Spooner drives a gas-powered motorcycle, a quaint anachronism...except that it feels like some suit shouted "let's put Smith on a motorcycle!" There are far, FAR too many unnecessary slow-motion action shots, including the aforementioned motorcycle.

The movie has all the right product placement and plot points: the cute furry animal survives, the good guys always get what they deserve, the bad guys gets their just desserts, and the wisecracking hero is rewarded for his outrageous antics. There are also gaping plot holes, like a service entrance that has no surveillance. In that regard, I, Robot tries too hard to please. Its action-hero concessions detract from its message.

Still, the special effects are fantastic. Sonny has more pathos than Smith on screen and is a wonder to watch as he displays child-like awe, anger, rage, sadness, and compassion. Conversely, we have the robotic pretty/ugly scientist (you know, the kind who wear glasses and their hair in a bun and are unappealing, but let down their hair and become gorgeous), Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), assisting the investigation. She reminds me of Sandra Bullock, minus the charm.

Smith floats through the movie with ease. He's sullen, wisecracking, and refreshingly free of any adult responsibility. He's a big man-child who comes off more as a spoiled brat than a streetwise cop, clinging to his anachronistic ways as if he invented them. Smith didn't have to strain to act this movie out - it's like Bad Boys was dropped into Minority Report.

The robots themselves, when roused to combat, move like gangly monkeys imbued with catlike grace. Combat scenes between robots would be too fast to even see if it wasn't for those darned slo-mo scenes, the only time they really are appropriate.

Ultimately, I, Robot strives to be both a thinking man's science fiction, an action vehicle for Will Smith, and a social commentary about the state of the world. It ends up being somewhere in between all three, but it's a tribute to the director's skill that I, Robot is still engaging despite its schizophrenic tendencies.

Rating:
Summary: a feast for the eyes and the mind
Review: I took my folks to see this film, simply on eye-candy merit alone. I really expected to do a lot of eye-rolling, but boy, was I wrong! I did not read the Asimov book, but those who have criticized the movie for not being true to the book are criticizing an orange for not being an apple. The opening credits say "suggested by the book by Isaac Asimov," not even "based on," simply suggested. Asimov's book may be far superior than the vision of this film's director, but I sure did enjoy watching the film! The movie is clearly inspired by the work of Asimov, but departs soon thereafter.

Will Smith is Del Spooner, a Chicago police detective in the year 2035. His marriage is on the rocks and he finds himself in a city literally polluted with a race of robots that he deplores. Most of society has embraced these robots as those who do the jobs that are either too hazardous or too unappealing for the common man... but Spooner finds them lacking the one human element that cannot be created for a robot - a heart.

Spooner finds himself investigating the death of Dr. Alfred Lanning (Academy Award nominated James Cromwell), the creator of the race of robots. It appears to everyone that Dr. Lanning committed suicide, but Spooner finds no motive for a suicide and instead stumbles upon a trail of bread crumbs that lead him to the suspicion the Robots are not as safe as their creators have been claiming.

"Sonny," a unique robot created by Dr. Lanning, is a character unto himself. Possessing true emotions, Alan Tudyk ("A Knight's Tale") provides the voice for the Robot who is looking for purpose in life. Tudyk's performance as the voice artist is eerily like the voice of Douglas Rain, the voice behind the Hal 9000 computer from "A Space Odyssey."

The film takes the viewer on exciting twists and turns, through plot and through tunnels, kung fu fightiing and lots of bullets a-flyin'. It is truly not evident until the last minute of the film who the real enemy is. Is it the corporation? Is it the robots? Was it Dr. Lanning?

Spooner enlists the help of Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), a devotee & protoge of the late Dr. Lanning. She tends to be as "logical" and cold as the robots she develops and finds Spooner's suggestion that a Robot could have killed Dr. Lanning as unlikely as a man walking on water. Spooner reminds Calvin that there was a man a long time ago that could do just that. Chi McBride ("Boston Public") plays Lt. John Bergin, Spooner's boss and another well-meaning character that finds the likelihood of a rebellious robot highly unbelievable.

The fast pace and spectacular special effects keep you on your mental toes and keep you guessing. There is quite a bit of foul language and the film is too intense for really young viewers. I had heard a lot of hype about a frontal nude scene with Will Smith... either it was exaggerated or else it was snipped at the last minute - because the closest to that is a brief side shot of Smith in the shower - albeit nudity, it hardly qualifies as "frontal nudity" and while pretty unnecessary in the grand scheme of things, it didn't make my eyes roll too far in the back of my head or make my mother blush. I could have lived w/o the scene altogether, but it did not offend my otherwise fairly puritanical sensibilities.

Don't cheat yourself and wait for video - this film deserves to be seen on the big screen!

Rating:
Summary: Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.
Review: When I saw the first previews for I, Robot, I was interested. When I found out Alex Proyas, director of The Crow and Dark City, was directing, I was VERY interested. And the verdict? Proyas delivers in what is probably the most fun I have had at the movies in a very long time.

Fans of Isaac Asimov's collection of short stories will feel short-changed by the movie's misleading title. The only real thing the film has in common with the literature is the inclusion of Asimov's Three Laws Of Robotics, and I believe the characters Alfred Lanning (played by James Cromwell) and Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan) appear in one of Asimov's stories, but I haven't read them, so I'm not sure. Either way, Proyas' I, Robot is in no way shape or form Asimov's. But maybe that's a good thing, because between the strong story by Jeff Vintar (who manages to redeem himself after his atrocious screenplay for the Final Fantasy movie) and script by Vintar and Akiva Goldsman and Proyas' great direction, this flick is great fun.

Will Smith plays Del Spooner, a detective with an unfortunate name and an even more unfortunate past. Called in to deal with the apparent suicide of Alfred Lanning, the top designer at US Robotics, he begins to suspect something more sinister is lurking beneath the surface of USR, and believes the impossible: That a robot, a top of the line NS-5, actually killed the good doctor. The story itself is relatively straight-forward, but has enough small twists and turns to make it interesting. Smith essentially plays his July hero role, so those familiar with the original Men In Black or Bad Boys films will instantly recognize his smart-mouthed swagger. Still, Smith and his supporting cast, including Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days) as the menacing USR CEO, Bridget Moynahan (The Recruit, Serendipity) as the super-smart, super-hot scientist Susan Calvin, Alan Tudyk as the voice of Sonny, and Chi McBride as Spooner's commanding lieutenant all do well in their roles. Composer Marco Beltrami confirms his status as a up-and-coming talent in movie scores with a great little soundtrack. Proyas, proving himself again an under-rated talent in movies, plays his cards smartly. The first half of the film is surprisingly slow and careful, which allows for us to be fully immersed in Chicago in the year 2035. While this pacing seems odd for a "summer blockbuster," it actually works exceedingly well. Proyas baits us with a few small action pieces, but is really building up the tension and anticipation for the film's conclusion. And what a finale. Action fans can rest assured, because when Proyas finally does let loose the dogs of war, it's worth the wait. With so many directors abusing and over-using slow-motion these days, it almost seems like that's all Hollywood can do. We're saved, though, because Alex Proyas has officially made slow-motion cool again, with some wild-eyed and creative timing and camera angles. And when the robots, those awesome looking CG perfect robots, themselves start kicking-@ss, it's so worth the price of admission. Watching their super-human aerobatic mix of kung-fu and insanity is nothing short of magical, and a great reminder of what a summer movie is supposed to be: magic.

I, Robot isn't perfect. The vision of 2035 Chicago isn't as immersive and life-like as the images of Washington, DC in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, or Los Angeles in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. The hyper-commercial over-exposure of the Audi rings, the JVC CD player and Smith's Converse shoes gets old. I, Robot's script isn't going to win any awards, but it has enough intelligence not to insult you, and enough action to entertain you. At heart, it is a summer popcorn flick. If you're looking for a more cerebral look at robotics and the philosophy behind them, I recommend Mamoru Oshii's Ghost In The Shell, which stands as more of a thinking-person's action film. Like Spider-Man 2, I, Robot is a FUN summer movie that leaps through its paces with grace and jaw-dropping visuals. And that's enough for me.