I, Liked it

Rating: 8/10 (15 July 2004)

A thoughtful and intelligent action movie.
I liked it, I really liked it. If you walk in expecting a true-to-Asimov experience, you will be disappointed. But if you walk in afraid they will have slaughtered it, you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
An exceptionally clear path through this one, fast-paced without being frenetic, elaborate without being ostentatious, CG without being obvious. Close to the chest, believable, realistic, and very funny too, without being over-the-top comedic.
I found 'the kid' to be a complete red herring, he's in the movie from start to finish but has utterly no meaning, he's tacked in there for demographics and at no time moves the story forward. Other than that, the film deserves to be called Science Fiction rather than Action/Fantasy, and the director's view of the future is lived-in, credible, and organic.
No Jar-Jar syndrome either, the main robot Sonny is an astonishingly compelling person. I was quite taken with him.
The robots in general, are amazing. That willing suspension of disbelief one so rarely becomes completely taken in by, they are amazingly animated, never seem like CG comic-book animation (sorry, Catwoman!), and at all times convey individuality and a very human aura. It's amazing, they better get an academy nod, they are so worth it.
This whole film was SO worth it. I'm dying to go back and see it again.