I, Surprised

Rating: Null/10 (4 January 2005)

I'm not big on Will Smith. There's a smarminess to him that I can't stomach. Don't get me wrong, I mean, he seems like he'd be really cool in person. It's when he plays those cocky characters that think they are the best thing since the invention of sliced bread that I start to get annoyed. If you want the perfect example, check out his work in Bad Boys 2. God, just the thought of it makes me want to go out and leap off a bridge. Anyway, I avoided seeing this movie in theaters because it looked like your typical "Will Smith playing a bad ass unconvincingly" movie.
I recently caught this on DVD and I have to say that I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. As expected, Big Willie Style is groan-inducing in almost every scene he's in but the movie as a whole is not that bad. There were a couple of moments in the film that left me nearly breathless. The first was a scene where he's inside a house that gets demolished by this big construction robot. Wow. Though it screamed fake-CGI, it was pretty intense. It was one of the narrowest escapes I have ever seen in a movie next to the Indiana Jones series.
Speaking of intense, the scene where he is attacked on the highway by two trucks loaded with robots was unbelievable. I don't think I blinked once watching this scene. The effects were pretty impressive but synthetic looking at the same time. I almost bought the DVD for this scene alone. It's perfect to show off your home entertainment center if you have a decent setup.
There were little twists in the story that really surprised me. I don't really want to spoil them for whoever is reading this so I won't bother listing them. The movie was also pretty funny in spots. The future setting is very well realized and the special effects, especially on the robots, were done very well. I thought the movie raised some interesting questions under its slam bang action movie exterior, especially in the ethics of artificial intelligence. Towards the end, it got just a bit confusing but not so much that it took away from the story.
As for Will Smith, I thought that he was slightly annoying for the most part but he had one or two moments where I actually felt for his character. Will is a great actor, I just wish he'd stop trying to prove to everyone how "down" he is. There's something about his swagger and cockiness that just feels forced to me. At any rate, this movie made me curious to see what his next outing will be.
RATING: *** out of *****.