Clever and fun but little more than a blockbuster

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2004)

Chicago, circa 2035: there are four humans to every robot, and Det. Spooner (Will Smith) has a strong dislike for them. Due to the "Three Laws" of Robotics, no robot can directly or indirectly harm a human being - but due to a past incident involving a robot, Spooner finds it hard to consider them totally harmless.
After a robotics engineer (James Cromwell) leaps to his death from a skyscraper, Spooner is called in to investigate - and stumbles upon the frightening prospect that a robot may be the murder suspect.
If you've seen the ads for this movie you know what is going to happen. It tries to deliver some surprises within its running time but the final "twist" is hardly shocking (at least not on the same level as a Verbal Kint-style surprise) and the movie is filled with many loud action sequences that place it in the blockbuster category.
This isn't too bad. I really enjoyed the movie. It's not great, but it's certainly not bad at all and does what it should: entertain. I expected little from the film after viewing the appalling trailer, and was pleasantly surprised.
However, I do feel that had the project been touched up by a better writer than Akiva Goldsman, and had a better cast (including director) been assembled, it might have been better in a deeper way. I do enjoy Proyas' direction but it seems a bit superficial at times and the marketing plugs and everything seem to combine, resulting in a schmaltzy overtone to the film that seems heavily reliant on Hollywood rather than brain power.
Will Smith really needs to stop playing these tough guy roles, because he's not exceptional at them. He fits the part fairly well but Spooner is a bit too sarcastic and flippant to find totally likable - he treads a thin line and passes over it a few times, mainly because he doesn't really seem to have a purpose for being as obnoxious as he is. It reminds me of Eddie Murphy's Axl Foley from "Beverly Hills Cop" (and not because they're both black actors!) - he is a loudmouth tough guy clichÃÂ© who no one believes, etc. But Murphy was 10x better at playing this sort of thing because his character was actually a great deal more likable.
Also, the movie is too heavy on its themes - its source material is strong and that's why I believe a more talented cast might have made a truly marvelous science-fiction film, but Alex Proyas merely tries to take the themes and insert them in a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster - not a pretty outcome. The whole racist overtones surrounding the movie are certainly prescient, but will suffocate many viewers looking for subtle viewing.
I seem to be bashing the film, but I don't mean to. It's a lot of fun, delivered more than I ever expected. The CGI are some of the best I've ever seen (and I'm not a fan of computer animation), and overall it's just a really fun film and will entertain you throughout - as long as you're not expecting too much depth.