 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
I, Robot
Directed by Alex Proyas
 On the hunt for a murderer, Will Smith takes a close look at one of several thousand suspects in I, Robot.
If you ask me, robots are bad news.
Sure there's the occasional "good" robot (C3PO and R2D2 from Star Wars and the robot from Lost in Space spring immediately to mind) but generally speaking robots are not to be trusted. Want an example? How about the traitorous Ian Holm in Alien or the original Terminator? Admittedly the idea of having a robotic slave to do the housework or run errands sounds like a dream come true and in Aussie director Alex Proyas' Sci-Fi action blockbuster I, Robot this is not just a dream, it's a reality.
The year is 2035, the city is Chicago and robotics genius Dr Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) has just jumped to his death. Or has he? Robotophobic homicide detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) is immediately suspicious and when he and robo-psychiatrist Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan) discover a robot hiding in the doctor's room Spooner is sure he's caught the murderer. Only problem is nobody will believe him. They just think he's acting even more paranoid than usual. After all, every robot on the planet has been programmed never to harm a human. Yeah, right!
Well you don't have to be a genius, robotics or otherwise, to guess what happens next. Plenty of full-on robot action, that's what! And detective Spooner would be fully justified in saying a big: "I told you so!"
Suggested by the short stories of visionary science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov and adapted by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsmith, I, Robot is the perfect amalgamation of superb special effects, good acting and an exciting, suspenseful story.
Oh, and nice bum Will! Plus he saved the cat, which gets him big Brownie points. And if you're a fan of the infamous "Will Smith humour" don't despair, he still drops some classic one-liners.
But Will Smith isn't the only leading "man" in I, Robot. Sonny the "unique" robot (voiced by British actor Alan Tudyk) is impressive. This is CGI magic at it's best.
This robots-on-the-rampage actioner won't be everyone's cup of tea but I was mesmerised. With robots it's a case of when they're good, they're very, very good but when they're bad they make better movies!
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