Mr. Smith goes to the future...

Rating: 5/10 (22 December 2004)

... perhaps the best you can say about this Will Smith vehicle is it's un-terrible fun with all the engagement of a run of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in Paducah, Kentucky.
Smith plays an arch-cynical robot-hating cop on the backend of the mend from some kind of relationship and/or life tragedy, breakup, whatever. He tries unsuccessfully to portray a "dark" character (no racial puns intended) swimming down the spiral of life. No matter his ballooned-out pectorals and Adonis-like physique, it's still the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in my book, kids. His face is just too "fresh" to be taken that seriously and the Prince's Bel-Air smirk is scarcely hidden beneath the theoretically sullen surface. Is he supposed to be "out of control?" Short of the telegraph, email, or carrier pigeon, how do we get told this while watching the movie? Like Tobey Maguire, Chris O'Donnell, etc. Smith is too eminently likable to be taken too seriously.
Still, Mr. Smith plays action hero well enough even if he has the acting chops of a tree sloth (or Keanu Reeves, whichever comes first). "I, Robot" is effectively a partially-realized hazy vision / take on Asimov's stories. Had Smith's Spooner character been played by an appropriately nimble actor (Benicio Del Toro? Johnny Depp?) with a noir-ish feel to build some meaty darkness and suspense to the story, this could have been a fine sci-fi thriller. Given director Proyas' fine pedigree with the atmospheric "Dark City," I felt he would have followed his visual and story instincts more decisively here. Instead, he breaks out the ham fists and plays the Hollywood Formula to the Nth Degree. Ultimately, then, "I, Robot" plays out to this tune and it isn't terribly interesting or exciting. At least Proyas blessedly avoids developing a "love interest" segment with the sterile Bridget Moynahan character, Dr. Susan Calvin. Whew.
I'm glad I didn't pay the mortgage down payment (aka movie theater ticket prices) to see this, but didn't feel it was a terrible waste of time at home. There were a few "neat" techno futuristic things. Oh boy. Beyond that, yawn.