Things to Come

Rating: Null/10 (7 August 2004)

I, Robot has a nice blend of thought-provoking story, dazzling CGI effects, credible acting, and riveting action scenes to make it a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Will Smith plays a policeman in 2035 fearing man's dependency on robots in everyday life. A mystery arises when a leading robot creator is found dead and a new shipment of state-of-the-art robots are about to hit the market place. The film has all the big budget things one would expect: Will Smith finding ample opportunity to take his shirt off, Bridget Moynahan taking a shower, repeated use of commercial tie-ins(I was SO tired of the Converse crap!), highly charged action sequences, and epic-like special effects. Much of this worked; however, for I, Robot is really a story-driven vehicle. Based on Issac Asimov's classic sci-fi novel, the film ultimately addresses concerns that may indeed become very real in the future regarding man's relationship with machine. The film is definitely well-crafted and much of the credit goes to director Alex Proyas for giving his audience a little credit for being intelligent. Will Smith makes, if nothing else, an affable hero. James Cromwell has a brief yet vital role in the film. The robots are center stage and Sonny, a wayward robot, steals all of his scenes. I really like I, Robot for its entertainment value.