True to Asimov's Vision

Rating: 10/10 (25 April 2012)

I have to re-create this review because some brown-nose ran to daddy about one of my other reviews, and this one disappeared in the debacle.
I have been reading Science Fiction and Asimov in particular since the 60's - And so I was excited that they were finally making Asimov's anthology "I, Robot" into film.
But when I saw the first previews I thought they were just Hollywood-ising the book. I was against the idea of this Movie when I saw those reviews. I did not want to see it, because I thought, they were "ruining the story." But when it comes down to it, the stories in book form of "I, Robot" are simply not the best Robot stories Asimov wrote. Before he passed away, he introduced the idea of the Robot "Sonny" in one of his last Susan Calvin stories. The Robot was not named "Sonny" but it had Aspects that Sonny will show in this film.
But most of the other aspects of this film, are in other Robot stories and books. There is a vast underground menagerie, which is shown in a small part in the film — not in detail. This film references "The Caves of Steel" - The vast underground Robot factory (Although, I think the Caves of Steel may have been on Venus, I'll have to re-read that book).
Del Spooner (Will Smith) is a cop, who is as biased against Robots as an Archie-Bunker type may have been biased against colour in the 50's and 60's. But Robots are safe, aren't they? At least U.S. Robotics says so, with Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics":
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
But Spooner just does not trust Robots. Does not "Like their Kind." But he has a secret, he does not like talking about: Why does Spooner never use is left arm? There is a reason for this, which is revealed in the story. Actually as the film progresses, we see him starting to use it, until we see what is actually going on.
Susan Calvin is a "Robot Psychologist" - Or is she the Dumbest "Smart Person" Spooner has ever met? In this film she is depicted by Bridget Moynahan, at first as a professional "iceberg" - Or, as a "Human Robot" - She has very robotic qualities. Calvin works with Robots, Likes them, was raised by a Robot "Lenny" (LNE) in the book-So for her, they are safe.
But one of the creators of U.S. Robotics, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), who knew Spooner, apparently kills himself by jumping from a high room in the U.S. Robotics building - Or Did he? We can't dismiss The Robot, "Sonny"-being in the room at the time. Why does this Robot read "Hansel and Gretel?"
In a scene taken from an Illustration straight from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, we see Sonny jump from the same window Lanning "fell" from - The imagery is exactly like a panel drawing from a story in that magazine.
There are curt nods like this, to all of Asimov's Robot works all through this film.
And so at first I was not pleased that this film did not exactly follow the stories in the Anthology "I, Robot" - But as I kept watching it, I started realsing, whoever wrote this screenplay filled it with little things from the line of Robot novels and stories-The "Robot Riots" — those are there, in the film but not the same way as the book.
I highly praise Alex Proyas for giving us this peek into the whole Mind of Asimov - And a true fan of his works will see the things I see. I am as purist as the next guy, but I have read harlan Ellison's 1990's screenplay for his vision of "I, Robot" - And he attempted to bridge all of the stories in the book with a framing story that tried to connect them all - It did not work very well, as much as I like the attempt.
And at the end of Asimov's career as a writer, he was introducing ideas, like "Do Robots Dream" - There is a section of the movie where they have Lanning's voice from a recorded lecture, talking about things Robots will do, that defy any explanation other than that they are a new form of life. And also the idea that a the Robot Brain of Chicago - "V.I.K.I" - Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence" — may pervert the Three Laws, making it necessary to create the 4th, or Zeroth Law of Robotics:
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
This is all in the film if you look. And most important, the Robot "Sonny" played well by Alan Tudyk of Firefly and Dollhouse, the robot who was made for a special purpose by Lanning himself - It never occurred to me that this could be the origins of "R. Daneel Olivaw" which is the Robot Detective in "The Naked Sun" and "The Caves of Steel."
And so I have tried to talk about this film without giving away the whole story - If I have inadvertently done this, I will gladly mark "Spoilers"-The only spoiler I can really add, is that at the end of the film where Sonny is standing above the rest of the gathered Robots on the remains of Lake Michigan - This is another image straight from the annals of Asimov's writings. And as such, very powerful.