It’s been a good few months for movies. The Day After Tomorrow may well have been the first film of the year I saw in theatres and it marked the beginning of the “summer blockbuster” season. Unless you include Shrek 2, ”I, Robot” is the third of such movies I’ve seen (the second being the dreadful Spider-Man 2), and as the old saying goes, two out of three ain’t bad.
”I, Robot” begins by telling us the three laws of robotics, which are crucial to the central plot of the film. A robot may not harm a human, or allow a human to come to any harm through inaction. A robot must obey all orders unless they conflict with the first law. A robot must protect its own existence unless doing so would conflict with either of the first two laws.
The year is 2035. When Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) is found dead and the only one who could have murdered him was a robot, everyone puts it down to suicide. Old man threw himself out of the window. However, homicide detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) doesn’t believe Lanning would do such a thing. Spooner blames the robot, Sonny (Alan Tudyk). With the help of Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), an expert in robot psyche, he sets out to prove robots have somehow found a way around the three laws and are about to unleash chaos on the world.
A feasible plot? Hell, it’s the future – anything could happen. I wasn’t entirely convinced that we would have the kind of technology needed to create such robots when 2035 is only 31 years away, but since the setting itself didn’t look as advanced, just desolate, I’m prepared to let that one slide. Oh, and, I want me one of them cars Spooner drives.
As far as the plot goes, it’s fairly basic. It doesn’t require a lot of brainpower, and when it does, Spooner tells Calvin to explain things in Layman’s terms, which helps both him and the audience understand them. For the most part though, the film simply brings on the action.
The action itself is spectacular enough to pass. From the destruction of a mansion (with Spooner inside), to the final climactic battle, everything is above board here. Despite the fact some of it is over the top (surfing on a door?), it’s done very realistically.
The special effects are simply amazing. The robots don’t look as advanced as something you might see on kids shows like Power Rangers or Transformers, instead they look human. Friendly, as Spooner puts it. They were created to serve humans so they don’t look intimidating or anything.
Somehow, Sonny is played by a human actor, Alan Tudyk. I’m not sure how they managed that, seeing as the robots look to be too thin to be a costume. However, Tudyk brings a decent performance, giving Sonny plenty of emotion. Bridget Moynahan shows chemistry with Smith, even though the idea of a love story is never taken anywhere. The inevitable sequel, maybe?
As for Smith himself, his performance is really no different to that of any of his other movies. Not a lot of point in commenting on his acting. You’ve seen it before an it’s exactly the same as you’ll expect. Despite this, it works. Go figure.
There’s only two real gripes I have about the film:
1 – There were a couple of occasions where it looked like it could turn out to be a two-hour ad for Coverse Chuck Taylors.
2 – We first see Smith waking up, just in his underwear, then we see him in the shower, then at a later stage there’s another underwear scene. Under no circumstances, not even for $1 million, do I wish to see Will Smith naked. Ever.
None of that really matters though, because ”I, Robot” is a great film. It’s everything you want from a “summer blockbuster”, with none of the bullshit thrown in. Action, drama, a slight hint of a love story, and robots. Finally, action packed fun done right.
In the year 2035, technology and robots are a trusted part of everyday life. But that trust is broken when a scientist is found dead and a skeptical d...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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