Review of I, Robot (2004) by Jon W — 27 Mar 2014

There isn't a plot in "I, Robot" as much as there is a series of stuff that happens involving the same people, although it's not always clear how and why some of the stuff is happening.

There are enough plot holes to lose a thousand robots, Will Smith gets a lot of bitchy quips, a female sort-of lead just happens to always be in the right place at the right time with exactly the right information and plan (although her job as a person who "makes the robots look more human" doesn't bare any resemblance to her involvement in the plot; she's pretty, and Will Smith needs a woman or else it might look too gay), and there are some excellent action sequences.

What happens is predictable which is saying something given that a lot of it doesn't make any logical sense. Still, I found myself attracted to the visual effects, soundtrack, and little ideas about the future (cars are stored like dry cleaning).

There isn't much in here that is memorable except for the character of Sonny (voiced excellently by Alan Tudyk), an oddly self-aware robot who has dreams and secrets. Everything else is pretty routine right down to Will Smith as a detective being told to turn in his badge (his gun would have been included if it hadn't been destroyed in the previous action sequence).

I am being very hard on this movie because I see no need to sugar coat bad and unimaginative writing. Still, if you like Will Smith and good visual effects, then you'll probably be only mildly disappointed.

It's inevitable that the movie ends with a climactic battle between Smith, woman, Sonny, and thousands of evil robots instead of some kind of deep philosophical point. Sure, it throws around some things at the end that would have been nice if they'd even been slightly hinted at before, but the characters, director, and writers treat it like something that happens when your characters have to talk between action sequences.

Asimov's short stories aren't used as much as vaguely hinted at here because a PG-13 crowd in the summer doesn't want to think too much, at least according to studios. Still, the visuals are pretty cool and there are some interesting set pieces.

Bruce Greenwood also plays a one-note character with more depth than he was written with, and a young Shia LaBeouf gets to be in two or three scenes to deliver some stuff that is occasionally funny. This is a traditional summer blockbuster, nothing more nothing less.

Note: A Blu-ray re-release in 3D has happened with this title. It looks pretty good but is still retrofitted 3D for a movie nominated for the Oscar for Visual Effects.