The Popkorn Junkie

Tales of a dark and foreboding future where technology has run amuck have been cautioning viewers ever since Orwell made the phrase “Big Brother” a household expression.

In the film “I Robot” Director Alex Proyas who’s past work includes “The Crow” and “Dark City” tells the tale of a near future where robots have become commonplace and are entrusted to do all manner of tasks.

The film stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, a Chicago Homicide detective who does not trust robots and is highly suspicious of them. The fact that in 2035 there has yet to be one documented case worldwide of a robot ever being involved in a crime is of little concern to Del as he sees the potential for danger in technology that is so widely spread.

An apparent suicide at U.S. Robotics by a friend of Del, seems to be an open and shut case, that is until Del digs a bit deeper and discovers a new model robot locked in the office of the victim, who flees from crime scene and refuses to obey the orders to halt given to him.

The fact that the robot ignores commands that violate his central laws of programming that forbid any robot to harm or allow to be harmed any humans is put off as a simple malfunction by Billionaire Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood), who does not want Del’s suspicions to disrupt his business plans on the eve of the largest rollout of new robots in history.

Naturally Del does not follow this command and he suspects that there is a larger and much more serious threat posed to the public even though everyone around his says that he is paranoid.

What follows is an action packed game of cat and mouse as Del and a U.S. Robotics scientist named Susan (Bridget Moynahan), start to uncover a deeper mystery, once in which the very world they have taken for granted is about to change.

The film is a visual marvel that shows you a fairly realistic view of the future as aside from the robots and futuristic highways, the world of 2035 does not look that much different than today.

Proyas knows that Smith is his star and he does a great job allowing him to carry the picture without allowing the visual effects to dominate the film, though they are spectacular.

Smith plays Spooner, as a man with demons yet never ceases to become a sensitive character despite his hard edge. He is a man that is determined to follow his instincts and do what is best for the people he is sworn to protect.

The film does only play lip service to the series of novels by Asimov, but it does tell a very good cautionary tale of human’s interaction and dependence upon technology without becoming preachy.

If I had to find fault, it would be that many of the supporting roles were fairly bland, but that being said “I Robot” delivers everything you want in a summer film and more.

-- Gareth ( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

Other Junkie's opinions.....

Matt ( 2 out of 4 pops )

Yet another big-budget summer blockbuster that will only appeal to those in the audience craving flashy special f/x. The film surely doesn't have much else to offer. The premise is unoriginal, and has been handled in better ways in previous sci-fi flicks (i.e.: the "Terminator" series). Some of the dialogue is outright atrocious, but I'm sure Will Smith ad-libbed some of those horrible lines. The worst is when Smith sneezes and says, "Sorry, I'm allergic to bulls**t." For some reason, that got a big laugh from the crowd in my local theater. Smith's ego has obviously gotten bigger and bigger over the years. In this film, he seems to barely put any effort into his performance, totally going through the motions. He's at that point where he figures, "I'm a big star, everybody will flock to see me anyway." Bridget Moynahan is one of the most beautiful actresses in the showbiz, but she's given a boring, clichéd role. She plays the uptight, brainiac scientist who "happens" to be very beautiful and have no facial blemishes. The major problem with this movie is not that it's bad, but it's dull. Overall, it's watchable, but there are much better films out there.

James ( 2 out of 4 pops )

I saw "I, Robot" like a week ago, and I am just now posting about it. Guess that says how it is right there. No, it doesn't suck, but I'm disappointed. It started out with a pretty realistic depiction of a possible 2035, the NS4 robots weren't ultra-advanced, but then when they introduced NS5 model, with those having the capabilities to experience emotion, the movie just went downhill. And further more, why in the hell does Will Smith almost always play a cop? The following movies Will Smith plays a cop in: Bad Boys, Men in Black, Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, I Robot. And he plays a Soldier in Independence Day and Wild Wild West. Let's see another Ali, Will. So should you see I, Robot? Sure, there's some cool cars and the parking garages for those cars are pretty sweet. Yes, I just told you to see a movie about robots because it has cars in it.