Review of Bicentennial Man (1999) by Alaine B — 07 Jul 2010

'Bicentennial Man' at its core has much potential, but is surrounded by too many defects to have it realized. Overly dramatic and fluffy, the script fails to do justice for the intriguing concepts laid within.

The film takes place in a future where household robots are now readily available for purchase. These robots take on tasks spanning from household choirs to simple companionship. In the opening scene we are greeted with one of these marvels named Andrew, play my Robin Williams. Uniquely curious and caring, the family that purchases Andrew quickly realizes that his humanistic nature sets him apart from others of his model. After verifying this with his manufacturer the family decides to treat him as one of their own rather than a piece of property, thus beginning Andrews quest to become more than his programming intended.

When this becomes the focal point the rest of the film begins to suffer. The setting jumps ahead great stretches of years without warning, and no specific instance is given sufficient time to grow. To add greater insult, the precious moments we do witness are padded with too much fluff to cherish. Andrews's friends and 'family' perish as he remains immortal, and the audience is left with a revolving door of characters that come and go. Granted that this circumstance is impossible to avoid, but the movie would have made a much greater impact if any of the supporting cast were more developed.

As Andrew becomes increasingly more human the believability factor suffers. Not from a scientific standpoint which I can easily forgive in a fantasy feature, but from a convenience aspect. It seems that every time a new part or upgrade is desired, a person is right around the corner with the solution at the exact moments they are needed. The only drive that helped me brave through these blemishes was my personal curiosity to see what he would do with them.

I also must make a quick note on the score. While I agree that dramaticly beautiful music can help intensify a scene, this impact is severely crippled when done to excess. I challenge you to find a span of more than 15 minutes where orchestrated splendor is absent.

Through all of this, Robin Williams still does a fantastic job. He really dives into his roll head first and maintains a realistic portrayal of what Andrew could actually be like. Alas, the rest of the cast seems disjointed and unwilling to give anything beyond a lifetime movie special caliber of a performance.

A strong point of 'Bicentennial Man' is the quality and use of special effects. I was impressed and applauded them throughout and found them to appear way ahead of their time.

To close, I will admit that it passes as a decent enough family film. It's sweet, caring and for the most part harmless, so children may enjoy it. Some interesting questions pertaining to humanity and ideas of mortality are posed which will offer some consolation to the parents sitting idly by. But be warned, this one ticks past the two hour mark quite slowly at times.

Rating: 4 out of 10.