Product Description

In the year 2035, technology and robots are a trusted part of everyday life. But that trust is broken when a scientist is found dead and a skeptical detective (Smith) believes that a robot is responsible. Bridget Moynahan co-stars in this high-tech action thriller that questions whether technology will ultimately lead to mankind's salvation . . . or annihilation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104614 in DVD
• Brand: SMITH,WILL
• Released on: 2007-06-05
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.com
As paranoid cop Del Spooner, Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black) displays both his trademark quips and some impressive pectoral muscles in I, Robot. Only Spooner suspects that the robots that provide the near future with menial labor are going to turn on mankind--he's just not sure how. When a leading roboticist dies suspiciously, Spooner pursues a trail that may prove his suspicions. Don't expect much of a connection to Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction stories; I, Robot, the action movie, isn't prepared for any ruminations on the significance of artificial intelligence. This likable, efficient movie won't break any new ground, but it does have an idea or two to accompany its jolts and thrills, which puts it ahead of most recent action flicks. Also featuring Bridget Moynahan (The Sum of All Fears), Bruce Greenwood (The Sweet Hereafter), and James Cromwell (Babe, LA Confidential). --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker
It's Will Smith versus the machines in this extremely loose adaptation of a series of Isaac Asimov stories. Directed by the fantasist Alex Proyas ("Dark City," "The Crow"), the movie is a C.G.I. extravaganza, full of gleaming surfaces and moody lighting in the manner of Edward Hopper. The robots themselves have beautiful ice-blue eyes, and the Chicago cityscapes have a "Blade Runner"-like intricacy. The studly Smith (he has a swoon-inducing shower scene) suspects that one of the latest models of a new robot line has committed murder, and the plot becomes a succession of chases that are progressively exciting. There's not much in the way of clever dialogue (the dreaded Akiva Goldsman had a hand in the script), but Proyas has a real facility for this kind of speculative storytelling. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

The Three Laws Bend to the Demands of Action
Those who grew up, as I did, with Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, and the rest of the SF grandmasters as their constant companions may find this movie too action-oriented, with too little emphasis on ideas, with not enough ratiocination to justify having Asimov's name associated with it. But at the same time, I found this movie to be quite entertaining, in places visually stunning, and, while not following the format or story line of any of the original stories contained in the book I, Robot, does hew fairly closely to the larger story line about robots that Asimov eventually developed in multiple related books.

The original book was based upon the then (1940) unheard of idea that robots, rather than being creatures prone to run amuck and destroy their creators, would be constructed with built-in laws that would not only make them safe, but a great boon to all humanity. The stories were careful little logic mysteries, dealing with the potential problems that can occur when there are conflicts between the governing three laws, the situation, and commands given the robot.

Will Smith plays a detective here, one who does not trust robots, who is afraid there is something decidedly wrong about these powerful and nearly ubiquitous machines which are driven only by logic, without any trace of emotion to leaven their choices. Clearly this places him on the wrong side of general (and his commanding Lieutenant's) opinion. But nevertheless he is called upon to investigate the apparent suicide of Dr. Lanning, co-founder and chief scientist of USR (Asimov's name was U. S. Robotics, but that has since been used by a real company). Susan Calvin (played by Bridget Moynahan), the company robo-psychologist, is assigned to help him with his investigation. Early suspicion falls on Sonny, a prototype NS5 robot, as possibly having something to do with Dr. Lanning's death.

The story line through this early portion of the movie is decidedly Asimovian in nature, leading me to believe that it really would follow the type of story construction contained in the original book. But later sections of the movie take it far beyond the problems of one robot, and into the realm of management of human society for a greater good, a theme that Asimov did tackle in later stories. It's almost as if this movie crammed about six different Asimov stories into this one, with a decidedly uneasy result: part action, part mystery, part character study, part utopian/dystopian world image, but none fully developed.

Will is OK in this part, although there are a couple of places where his actions are decidedly unbelievable (pin-point accuracy shooting two revolvers from a motorcycle that has just bounced into the air?), and there are a couple of times when he doesn't seem to be totally comfortable in the detective role. The portrayed character of Dr. Calvin, though, came as a shock, as the depiction by Ms. Moynahan here is almost the antithesis of Asimov's Calvin. For those who have never read Asimov, her portrayal is good, with just enough mixture of clinical logic and overboard emotionality to be fairly convincing - but the clash with my mental picture of Calvin as dry, unemotional, and not conventionally pretty made it difficult for me to truly evaluate this performance. James Cromwell as Dr. Lanning was almost perfect, though a very small role. Sonny the robot is played (or at least voiced) beautifully by Alan Tudyk, and the CGI work here is excellent - in many ways this character steals the show.

A mixed bag: better than average visuals, some decent acting, even a plot line that at least understands the original book material (no sure thing when it comes to Hollywood understanding real science fiction); but a lack of cohesiveness, action for action's sake, and some ideas not fully developed. Better than the normal Hollywood attempt at adapting an SF classic, good for a couple hours of entertainment, but not a great movie.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Hot-wired
I Robot takes place in the year 2035, when robots have taken over many of civilization's functions. In order to ensure their safe coexistence with people, all robots are hardwired with the "three laws" - core programs that prevent them from harming, or allowing harm to come to, humans. That's not enough for Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith), though, who has his own reason to distrust robots. When a prominent scientist (James Cromwell) is found dead of an apparent suicide, Spooner quickly comes to believe it was actually murder - perpetrated by a new generation robot who calls himself Sonny (Alan Tudyk). Spooner's investigation is resisted by U.S. Robotics, the corporation that made Sonny and is on the eve of rolling out millions more like him. As the clock ticks toward the rollout, Spooner fights the corporation and his own department to unlock Sonny's secret and avert a worldwide calamity. He is reluctantly aided by Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynihan), a scientist who specializes in robot behavior.

As summer blockbuster seasons go, this one has been quite good. In addition to the terrific Shrek 2, Harry Potter, and Spider-Man 2, we've been treated to a flawed-but-interesting Troy and a not at all bad King Arthur. With the possible exception of The Day After Tomorrow, there hasn't been a mutt in the pack. Even documentaries are filling auditoria this year. And now we have I Robot, a much better film than most critics expected. If The Bourne Supremacy is this good, I may have to leave IT for good and see if I can get a job as a projectionist somewhere.

I Robot makes an interesting comparison with Steven Spielberg's 2002 opus Minority Report. Both involve troubled cops in a near-future world who buck their own departments to investigate crimes that technology should have rendered impossible. Spielberg's movie is more visionary, and perhaps more involved with complex moral questions. But it's also ultimately cold and uninvolving. I Robot is more engaging, more visceral, far more conventional - and a lot more fun.

That's partly due to the charismatic Will Smith, who is at his wisecracking best here. With his sleepy, laid-back delivery and brawny athleticism, Smith is the perfect foil to the creepy mechanical sleekness of the robots - and their spokesman, the billionaire chairman of U.S. Robotics (Bruce Greenwood).

The other real star of the movie is Sonny. Voiced by Tudyk and brought to life by great CGI, Sonny is a complex adolescent of a robot. In a wonderful scene where Spooner interrogates him, we watch the robot's deferential, rational demeanor unravel in the face of the detective's deliberate insults and accusations. Later, when Sonny is about to be "decommissioned", we are moved by his obliquely-expressed fear and sadness. It's a very nice performance.

The film's other performers also turn in uniformly good roles - notably Greenwood, Moynihan as the robot psychologist, and Chi McBride as Spooner's boss. Special effects are what you would expect from a big budget sci-fi thriller (and more).

If you like a good action film, better hurry on out and see this one. With so many good movies floating around, who knows when another one will come along to replace it?

"Perhaps this is my purpose"
My first reaction as this film began was "Wait! This isn't Asimov." The Asimov I grew up reading was a weaver of ideas, more mind candy than adventure story. But here I found myself in Will Smith's bedroom, and then suddenly catapulted into a wild chase after a purse grabbing robot. A far cry from the delicacy used by Asimov. It took a while for the shock to wear off but eventually the conflict between Smith's gritty performance as Del Spooner and his original inspiration in the reminiscences of Dr. Susan Calvin (played by Bridget Moynahan) wears off and the view settles into a film that is inspired by Asimov, but does not imitate him.

The sooner that happens, the better, because this is an exceptional film in its own right, even if it does proceed with the speed of a video game. Smith creates a wisecracking character with a deep mistrust of robots. He is called in to to investigate what appears to be an impossible killing - robots can't kill humans, it's the first law of robotics. But Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) lies dead and the only suspect is 'Sonny' a Series 5 robot with some surprising circuitry (played by Alan Tudyk).

The death is declared a suicide, but Spooner refuses to give in. suddenly the automated world turns on the detective, whose unlikely ally is Dr. Calvin, a robopsychologist responsible for the psyches of masses of robots about to be distributed around the planet. One hair-raising escape after another propels the story along until viewers find themselves at a surprisingly reflective conclusion. Not exactly classical Asimov, but a great story nonetheless.

Will does a good job as Spooner, but he is upstaged by Moynihan's performance. And both are blown away by Tudyk and the animators performance as Sonny. As you watch Sonny develop from being slightly more simpatico than the scenery into a full-blown personality there are countless moments of surprise. Moynihan and Smith do their best, but from the moment Sonny turns to Spooner and says "Thank you... you said someone not something." The film belongs to the robots.

Excellent animation and CGI create a world that is a retro version of the future - perhaps exactly what Asimov imagined rather than what we would now. The result is a compelling mix of the outré and the mundane that sticks in the mind just as Sonny's wink does.

This is not just an action film. Threaded through it are the same questions that Asimov raised about the nature of self and intelligence. Robots may never be human, but there are far more than furniture. And if their thought processes are alien, they are more than the sum of their programming. The result is one of the more carefully thought out science fiction films in recent times.