I, ROBOT (2004)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Viewed on July 20th, 2004
RATING: Three stars
Ever since 1982's cult classic "Blade Runner," the notion dispelled was
that
robots were more human than humans. Along with 2001's underrated Steven
Spielberg film, "A.I.," the other notion was that robots want to become
human.
"I, Robot" takes the idea even further - robots want to feel human
emotions and
consider themselves human because their human creators intended it that
way.
Set in Chicago, thirty years from now, Will Smith plays Detective Spooner,
a
brash, motor-mouthed cop who despises robots. You see, in this
near-future,
robots handle duties and jobs that most humans would have (is this an
indication of the migrating U.S. jobs to Mexico, China, etc.)? These
robots
(who look like walking iPods and have the metallic sheen of iMacs) deliver
Federal Express packages, handle household duties, protect humans from
harm,
throw trash into garbage trucks, and so on. There are the famous Issac
Asimov
Laws of Robotics (suggested, not based, on Asimov's book of the same
name),
which include that robots protect and never kill humans. As Spooner says,
"All
rules are made to be broken." The creator of U.S. Robotics, Dr. Landing
(James
Cromwell), apparently committed suicide, but Spooner knows better. He
feels a
robot had killed Landing who is now on the run. Spooner receives help from
Dr.
Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), an employee of U.S. Robotics whose job is
to
make these robots look as human as possible. Lo and behold, somebody might
have
messed with the robots' circuits. The robot fugitive on the run, known as
Sonny, feels anger and can mimic human expressions. If he feels anger, he
might
use it to kill. Or he may just pound his fists on the table.
What "I, Robot" has is a sleek, unique look, and director Alex Proyas
("Dark
City") eschews the subterranean look of his earlier pictures for a glossy
facade, mainly due to shots of metallic surfaces that emanate a glow from
reflective lights. Most scenes are shot in daylight hours, and the city of
Chicago looks more densely populated with skyscrapers, including the
ultra-modernist U.S. Robotics building that seems to have an upwards
slope.
Photographically speaking, the overall effect is of a metallic glow that
can be
gleaned from every frame. Even Sonny, often shown in profile, seems to be
subtly glowing (understandable when there are Biblical allusions
throughout the
film) and he seems more real than anyone in the entire film.
As for story and in-depth characters, "I, Robot" falls somewhat short. One
too
many holes exist in the plot, especially when dealing with the robots and
their
new and improved counterparts. For instance, if robots are performing
menial
jobs (instead of illegal aliens or legal workers), what do the humans do
for
work? We even see one robot bartending! The only available jobs are for
robot
scientists? Apparently, the city is full of humans, so what the heck do
they do
for a living?
As for the human characters, we have Will Smith's Spooner who may as well
have
sprung from both "Bad Boys" and "Men in Black" - he has his share of
one-liners, even to a cat! He is mostly an angry man and detests robots
(at
least his explanation of why he hates them is rather touching) yet loves
listening to Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." Moynahan's good doctor seems
more
concerned with the future of robots than humans - though intentional to be
sure, we never glean much insight from her. And the most underutilized
character is Dr. Landing, always shown as a computer image, whose actions
are
never clear and quite suspect.
Proyas invested an existential edge in "Dark City," a sort of retro-1940's
noir
where everyone is at the service of evil aliens in trenchcoats. This time,
the
familiarity of city life seems corrupted, and humans are hardly the threat
of
the future anymore. Since Kubrick's "2001," the overriding theme has been
that
anything computerized or electronic is not to be trusted. Robots are the
threat
and they want to take over. The humans are the supporting characters.
"I, Robot" is entertaining and slight, shunning many of the late Asimov's
moral
themes for high-powered action scenes and sporadic one-liners. Though some
useful ideas slip through this typical Hollywood summer blockbuster, one
expects Alex Proyas to dig much deeper.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at
http://www.geocities.com/faustus_08520/Jerry_at_the_Movies.html
Email: Faust668@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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X-RT-TitleID: 1134097
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X-RT-RatingText: 3/4
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