A Summer movie with some genuine brain candy

Rating: 10/10 (16 July 2004)

I, Robot is not a story-driven summer blockbuster, nor is it an action romp with Will Smith. The movie finds itself in the middle, straddling the line of good storytelling while still delivering some good action. Will Smith, as with his other movies, plays himself, but in this movie the "Smith persona" is subdued, and one can see the actual hints of acting ability that we've seen from him in movies like "Six Degrees of Separation". The supporting cast all fit into their categories well, there's the bombastic youngster, the skeptical police Lieutennant, the love interest that warms up to the hero, and the evil money-hungry businessman. The real strong point of the movie comes from the fact that it offers up a decent human drama akin to the original concept of "the toaster that thinks". All in all, the movie should be seen by all Smith fans, and those willing to turn off only PART of their brain for the sake of the summer movie.