With every advancement in technology, the inevitability of fully-functional artificial intelligence comes closer to being realized. In I, Robot, that day has arrived. The year is 2035 and robots are as omnipresent as a “Golden Girls” rerun on the Lifetime network. The robots, who serve as everything from your Fed-Ex delivery driver to an assistant parental figure, have been embraced by the whole of society. Detective Spooner is a skeptic though, who after a traumatizing accident that involved a robot refuses to trust a robot as little more than a can-opener. It is this distrust which lands Spooner on the case of the apparent suicide of Dr. Alfred Lanning, the inventor of the “modern” robot. And what appeared to be an open-and-shut case turns out to be Spooner’s first clue to the Robot Revolution to come.
Based on a story from Isaac Asimov (Bicentennial Man), I, Robot takes on the age-old question of man and his superiority over the machines he builds or vice versa. Although I, Robot is no Minority Report (possibly the best example of science fiction to date), the ideas it takes on are intriguing and about as brain stimulating as you will find at the movies this summer. The story is stock and the dialogue is expectedly cringe-worthy (a few to me “Oh, hell no!”’s if you ask me), but the movie moves along at an steady pace and is able to find a very enjoyable balance between scientific theories and the explosive action that movie patrons paid to see.
Speaking of the advancement in technology, the special effects in I, Robot are phenomenal. The robots are integrated seamlessly into the movie, and any rumors to the contrary are put to rest. The robots aren’t the only special effects coup however, as Chicago circa 2035 is just as eye catching as its robotic citizens. (Although some of the other technology, ala a mechanical parking garage, seem a bit too advanced for a future only 30 years away.) The action sequences are pulse-pounding of course, but there are way too many Matrix-inspired slow motion stunts which have become de rigueur in style these days.
Despite his A-list status, Will Smith has yet to prove himself able to carry a big summer movie completely on his shoulders. In both the Bad Boys and Men in Black series, he has been one half of a pair. The box office has yet to make its final ruling, but in terms of charisma he certainly pulls it off. His female counterpart is played by Bridget Moynahan (The Recruit) who gives an acceptable if not memorable performance as a chief robotic scientist. Bruce Greenwood plays a convincing villain
In my mind, I, Robot is the quintessential “summer movie” in that it combines a charismatic action star with enough stunts, explosions, and off-the-cuff humor to convince movie patrons to open their purses and wallets. If you aren‘t a fan of the Shrek, Spider-Man, or Harry Potter franchises, I, Robot makes a good choice and although it isn’t a perfect movie, it is certainly worthy of a recommendation during the dog days of summer.
Grade: B
© 2004 Jacob Sproul
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