I, Robot (2004)

Director:

Alex Proyas

Writers (WGA):

Isaac Asimov (suggested by book)
Jeff Vintar (screen story)

Release Date:

16 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

What will you do with yours?

Plot:

In the year 2035 a techno-phobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.

Plot Keywords:

Dystopic Future | Human Versus Computer | No Opening Credits | Police Investigation | Murder Investigation

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Sept. 7	8:30 PM	FX
Mon. Sept. 8	10:00 AM	FX

Cast

Will Smith	...	Del Spooner
Bridget Moynahan	...	Susan Calvin
Alan Tudyk	...	Sonny
James Cromwell	...	Dr. Alfred Lanning
Bruce Greenwood	...	Lawrence Robertson
Adrian Ricard	...	Granny (as Adrian L. Ricard)
Chi McBride	...	Lt. John Bergin
Jerry Wasserman	...	Baldez
Fiona Hogan	...	V.I.K.I.
Peter Shinkoda	...	Chin
Terry Chen	...	Chin
David Haysom	...	NS4 Robots
Scott Heindl	...	NS5 Robots
Sharon Wilkins	...	Woman
Craig March	...	Detective

Also Known As:

Hardwired (USA) (working title)
I, Robot (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense stylized action, and some brief partial nudity.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Brazil:10 | Malaysia:U | France:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12PG | Ireland:15 (DVD/VHS release) | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Canlaws Productions

Trivia:

In the display window of an antique robot store is Sony's AIBO robotic dog.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The story takes place in Chicago, but right before the scene of Spooner and John getting drinks in a bar, the sign next door to the bar suggests, in Chinese, that the place is in Canada.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Detective Del Spooner: [singing along with Stevie Wonder's "Superstition"] Seven years of bad luck.

Movie Connections:

References Men in Black (1997)

Soundtrack:

Rescue Me

A look at why we might not ever want a robot per every household ensues.

According to Isaac Asimov, the Three Laws of Robotics are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Now you don't have to be a web designer/hilarious movie reviewer with a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and an MBA to realize that some sort of interpretation of the old "rules were made to be broken" adage is gonna take place. And that, my friends, is the nut that the story's shell encases.

My friends: Um, what?

Oh, uh, sorry, I was just trying to sound cool. Anyway...

If you're the type of person who likes to prejudge and make assumptions about movies based on trailers (unlike me, of course), then you may initially think this movie is just all silly action. But that's not the case. Oh, there's definitely some silly and unrealistic action. Whenever you have Will Smith SURFING AWAY FROM AN EXPLOSION ON A FRONT DOOR then you know there's some stuff you're just gonna have to take with two pinches of salt and a dash of sugar, but I, Robot does a good job of developing and revealing its story, all while mixing in the right amount of rump cheek-kicking.

There is no denying that the special and visual effects are great, and they are the major selling point for this movie. The car scene in the tunnel is worth the price of admission, and the last 15 or 20 minutes really kick things into 1969 Camaro overdrive. If you've gotta go to the bathroom or get a refill on popcorn, then definitely do it before these last 20 minutes. But I found myself genuinely interested in the story. The movie manages to maintain a good amount of suspense and tension throughout, and it throws in a couple of twists just to keep things fresh. Are the robots as evil as they seem? Is Bruce Greenwood the bad guy he appears to be? Why exactly does Will Smith hate robots so much? Is Alfonso Ribeiro somewhere sucking his thumb and crying, wondering why Will won't return his phone calls?

The acting is pretty solid throughout. In general, I like Will Smith. But if you've seen Wild, Wild West then you know he's not immune to starring in crap. Thankfully, that's not the case here. Will Smith pretty much plays Will Smith, so take that for what you think it's worth. He's basically a cop with an attitude who likes to wax sarcastic and be all rebellious and stuff. And he has some good back-and-forths with the ever-adorable Bridget Moynahan who, as Dr. Susan Calvin, is an expert on robot psyches and has great lips - much better than the over-sized bananas Angelina Jolie has plastered below her nose.

Going into the movie, I had my reservations. After all, when I first saw the robots in the trailer, I thought they looked about as silly as Tom Cruise with his gray hair in "Collateral." But the robot special effects are actually well-done. I came away impressed. They look pretty realistic (more human than Al Gore, to be honest), especially in their mouth movements (George Lucas - take note). And Mrs. Shade made a good point - if you're putting a robot in every home, then you probably don't want it to look evil and menacing. The fight scenes between the robots are quite cool without looking too fake. This is a good sign that we may be moving away from CGI being too obvious.

I don't know if I'll add this to my DVD collection, but I definitely want to at least rent the DVD one day, assuming that it's loaded with cool special features. Just one question, which encompasses one of my complaints about the movie, why do so many action movies insist on having a scene where the hero saves an animal in peril? I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY MORE CATS OR DOGS BEING SAVED IN THE NICK OF TIME! I don't want to see animals die or anything, but I'm just tired of pointless "I must risk my life to save this animal" scenes. It's a cheap ploy to get audiences to go "Awwwww." It works, but it makes me dry heave.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)