I, Robot (B or 3/4 stars)
Will Smith lays down the law in 'I, Robot', an action/adventure, sci-fi film directed by Alex Proyas & suggested in a book by Isaac Asimov. Chicago, 2035: Detective Spooner (Smith) is investigating the supposed suicide of Dr. Lanning (James Cromwell), pioneer of humanoid robots (created solely to aid humans in everyday life), the NS-5 robots (an upgraded version of the previous robots). The '3 Robot Laws' are as follows: Rule 1 - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Rule 2 - A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Rule 3 - A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or the Second Law.
Dr. Lanning has left clues behind for Spooner that leads him to believe that there was foul play in his death. In accordance with this, Spooner suspects that the NS-5 robots can overlook the 3 law programming & cause harm to humans. And as we know, rules were made to be broken. Sonny' is the NS-5 who may have been responsible for Dr. Lanning's death. He has been programmed to feel emotions such as anger, remorse, & sorrow. And since NS-5's are ready to be distributed into the world to replace the existing robots, Spooner is even more skeptical of these NS-5's & their intentions.
A myriad of questions arise: Can robots emote and/or control their emotions? Can they feel pain? Can they be scared? Can they be philosophical? Will there be a need for humans down the road? Are robots inherently good or bad? The film does an ample job of making us think about these questions and also answering them as well as a movie in this genre can. Humans CAN feel sympathetic to these machines. Det. Spooner is worried about this because humans may let down their guard and that would allow robots to do what they please with reckless abandon; that is dangerous.
The supporting characters are decent, but I wouldn't write home about the performances. Bridget Moynahan is okay as Dr. Susan Calvin, if not spectacular. In all fairness, that is all her character called for. She is beautiful. But is she a great actress? I am not convinced, yet. What she is good at is landing herself as the supporting actress in blockbuster movies led by Hollywood heavyweights such as Will Smith. Most of his films have been hugely successful. He is multi-faceted in his acting capabilities. In movies such as Wild Wild West, Men in Black, & Bad Boys … Will Smith relies solely on visual effects & comedy to display acting talent. In Ali and now this, he has the ability to capture an audience and have them in the palm of his hand.
2 complaints: 1) in one scene, Smith singles out an acquaintance in a crowd of thousands & takes time to help him in a moment where there is no time to waste. This is a waste of a scene & waste of budget to have that particular character in 'I, Robot', at all. 2) A pet peeve of mine is the clichéd scene where characters fall enormous heights & somehow come out unscathed; as if they were superhuman. I think scenes like this take the fun out of a movie that is trying to take itself seriously. I enjoyed the film a lot & would recommend it to any sci-fi lover. It is no Spielberg masterpiece (Minority Report or A.I.), but it succeeds in its genre. This particular film gets by because of great special effects. You ultimately 'get' what you expect from this summer blockbuster; no more, no less.
Dr. Lanning has left clues behind for Spooner that leads him to believe that there was foul play in his death. In accordance with this, Spooner suspects that the NS-5 robots can overlook the 3 law programming & cause harm to humans. And as we know, rules were made to be broken. Sonny' is the NS-5 who may have been responsible for Dr. Lanning's death. He has been programmed to feel emotions such as anger, remorse, & sorrow. And since NS-5's are ready to be distributed into the world to replace the existing robots, Spooner is even more skeptical of these NS-5's & their intentions.
A myriad of questions arise: Can robots emote and/or control their emotions? Can they feel pain? Can they be scared? Can they be philosophical? Will there be a need for humans down the road? Are robots inherently good or bad? The film does an ample job of making us think about these questions and also answering them as well as a movie in this genre can. Humans CAN feel sympathetic to these machines. Det. Spooner is worried about this because humans may let down their guard and that would allow robots to do what they please with reckless abandon; that is dangerous.
The supporting characters are decent, but I wouldn't write home about the performances. Bridget Moynahan is okay as Dr. Susan Calvin, if not spectacular. In all fairness, that is all her character called for. She is beautiful. But is she a great actress? I am not convinced, yet. What she is good at is landing herself as the supporting actress in blockbuster movies led by Hollywood heavyweights such as Will Smith. Most of his films have been hugely successful. He is multi-faceted in his acting capabilities. In movies such as Wild Wild West, Men in Black, & Bad Boys … Will Smith relies solely on visual effects & comedy to display acting talent. In Ali and now this, he has the ability to capture an audience and have them in the palm of his hand.
2 complaints: 1) in one scene, Smith singles out an acquaintance in a crowd of thousands & takes time to help him in a moment where there is no time to waste. This is a waste of a scene & waste of budget to have that particular character in 'I, Robot', at all. 2) A pet peeve of mine is the clichéd scene where characters fall enormous heights & somehow come out unscathed; as if they were superhuman. I think scenes like this take the fun out of a movie that is trying to take itself seriously. I enjoyed the film a lot & would recommend it to any sci-fi lover. It is no Spielberg masterpiece (Minority Report or A.I.), but it succeeds in its genre. This particular film gets by because of great special effects. You ultimately 'get' what you expect from this summer blockbuster; no more, no less.