I, Robot (2004, VHS)

Just another blind participant passing through. I never read the novel by Isaac Asimov, although I had heard of it for quite some time before this. From what I've heard, the movie is nothing like the book, but that's secondhand information for you. If you can trust it, well, I wouldn't be surprised.

"I, Robot" (the movie) is a story set in Chicago, in which the entire world has become so dependent on machines that it has created machines in its own image to help out. The year is 2035, and there is a robot for every five humans on the planet. You don't have to worry about what this has done for the job industry, because the only one affected by that is the main character's father. You don't have to worry about the possibility that exercise has become obsolete, 'cause everyone is still beautiful.

Well, one day this really important scientist goes and offs himself by jumping out of a window. Or so it would seem, but Del Spooner (Will Smith) doesn't buy it. Elsewhere, we discover that a brand spankin' new "breed" of robot is about to be released by U.S. Robotics. And wouldn't you know it, one of THOSE robots (who calls himself "Sonny") is hiding in the room where the scientist committed suicide. Sonny gets implicated for the crime, and away we go.

There is a goodly amount of talk about the robots, a bit of close-to-mindless debate about whether or not a robot could commit a murder. But it all depends on the Three Laws, which are presented point blank at the movie's start:

1. A robot cannot harm a human being, nor through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm

2. A robot must obey a human being, except when it conflicts with the first law.

3. A robot must strive to protect its own existence, except where it conflicts with the first two laws.

Did a robot find a logical way around the three laws? Is there a logical way around them? I wouldn't hold out your hopes too much for a straight answer to that one.

Further talks with Sonny (which are truly the greatest moments) reveal that he has some extremely human characteristics, like dreams. But since "he" still committed the crime, he has to be disassembled. Good night. Noooo, just one more chapter, Mommy, please!

Will Smith plays a jubilant, albeit slightly toned-down, version of his usual character, but Del Spooner is helped a bit by his cool shoes, the captivating relationship between him and his mother, snoring in conversation, and (for the gals) a nude shower scene. His one-liners aren't as bad as they say; my crowd had a great laugh at one of his lines about his "allergy".

Bridget Moynahan, last seen in "The Recruit", plays a stoic Susan Calvin, who answers all of Spooner's questions about the robots, while denying that anything is wrong with them. Her character may or may not be an attempt to make fun of Reloaded's Architect since, several times, she repeats her explanations in layman terms.

Sonny (actually played by a human being, Alan Tudyk) is just remarkable. I thought he stole the show in every scene he got the chance to. He expressed interest in the human world without acting like a four-year-old (No offense to my man Johnny 5, of course). He even picks up on little things like winking and uses them to his advantage. You wouldn't think by his behavior that he had actually committed a crime, but then you can never be too sure about anything.

The special effects were extremely cool, but there are moments when they are so obviously fake. If that broken windshield doesn't look like a 64-bit video game, I don't know what does. The fights toward the end got pretty intense, and the camera shots were absolutely spellbinding.

Basically, you know the audience wants to like the robots more than the humans, so you almost can't blame the movie for catering to that mentality. The best moments are when the humans and robots interact, but when humans interact with other humans, you get a bunch of cliches like someone using an old photograph of sentimental value to get to someone else, or the tried-and-true "reckless cop gets fired" technique.

When you find out who is "behind" the big robot outrage at the end, it gets pretty complicated. I didn't think it would end up involving that silly disco ball, but I guess I should've known. (Don't worry, you'll forget I even said that.) So, either attempt to pay attention or just let it slide and accept whatever goes down.

It's just a summer action flick. And at that much, it's quite good. Call it a very strong three stars.