a well executed rendering of a fascinating basic plot

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2005)

On the ground floor of US Robotics, their leading scientist lies dead, presumably after having thrown himself out from one of the storeys above. Though inexplicable psychologically, the facts seem open to only one interpretation, suicide.
Dt. Del Spooner (Will Smith), who knows Dr. Lanning from before, needs to reassure himself that it really is so. In this process, he encounters a psychiatrist of robots who loves them, the company owner who loves the money robots bring, and a singular robot of the last generation, NS-5, which is about to be brought to every home.
It's the year 2035, and the film is based on the tension between humans and highly evolved robots.
What makes this film more than just an average futuristic action film, is the clarity and originality of its basic conception. It appeals to our faculties of logic and our ideas about the relationship between humanity and technology. This is done simply and intelligently, basically because the film is based on an idea and a script that truly captures both mind and vision.
The look of the film is also very good. It creates a future which seems enjoyable, more fascinating than strange, and the look of the robots serves to underline the basic plot. The film's weaknesses are also rather obvious: Part of the dialogue is very predictable and full of clichÃ©s. The relationship between Dt. Spooner and his boss, and the portrayal of the industrial manager, is also copied from the standard repertoire. The action scenes weren't boring, but still not strikingly original.
Will Smith does a good job as Dt. Spooner, and brings intensity as well as a touch of complexity to the character and his relationship to robots. He's a credible hero, and manages to communicate both strength, creativity and intelligence within adequate proportions. The other leading actors also do well enough, and Sonny, the robot, is intriguing and appealing.
If not for the technical and aesthetic ease of the production and the originality of the story, this might have been just another sci-fi movie. It has its flaws, but the moments of brilliance makes one forget them, and leave the screen refreshed and entertained, both visually and intellectually.