Entertaining if somewhat predictable

Rating: 7/10 (2 August 2004)

I ignored the warning that I'd hate the film if I were a Asimov fan. Good thing, too - since I did enjoy the film.
I'm trying to avoid spoilers...
First the good - the computer generated images and characters were mostly very well done. With minor exceptions the CG nature did not intrude noticeably. Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan are believable in their parts. The editing and cinematography are well done. As an action film the script was acceptable.
Now the bad - the villain was way too easy to identify far too early in the movie. I don't think Will Smith turns in his best performance here - he could have done better, and some scenes seem designed only in order to show off his Ali movie physique and didn't add any value to this motion picture. Bridget Moynahan played a Susan Calvin too mild and pretty to be credible as the hard edged robot-psychologist of Asimov's stories. The "evil" robot army is too over the top. The script needed more polish, a more credible reason for Spooner to hate robots, and less dependence on plot contrivances to solve dilemmas.
Overall, though, the mixture actually weighs in more to the good than the bad (despite the number of words in my analysis of the two aspects) - especially if you remember this is an action flick and not really a Dr. Asimov style robot mystery story. I'd say it manages 7 / 10.