Read the Book, Don't Watch the Film.

Rating: 3/10 (1 July 2019)

Introduction:
I, Robot is personally my favorite science fiction novel. Written by Isaac Asimov, the book is a collection of stories about a future where robots serve the role as sort of helpers for humans. and the book raises many interesting questions about what the future holds, and many questions about Artificial Intelligence. And is a truly unique story, as it was written because the author was tired of all the generic stories of robots rebelling against the humans. And created a story where that doesn't happen, and the ending is cleaver, I dare not give it away. To summarize, the novel is one of the smartest pieces of literature ever written.
So, how does the film hold up? Does it respect the source material? Is it a unique film? Well, considering the low rating I gave it, I think you can guess. The film is a terrible adaptation, that has nothing to do with the novel. And only takes the title of the great book, so people would go to the theater. Not because they wanted to adapt it, they just wanted to cash in the nostalgia of the book. Ans that's 'cause the film is what Isaac Asimov hated, and didn't want to write. He didn't to write a generic, cliche, by the numbers story where robots rebel against humanity, because that had been done to death before. But this film decides to be exactly that. It turns an original and amazing set of stories, and turns it into a mediocre and unoriginal story.
The Story & Characters:
If this was a film with a different title, and it wasn't connected to Asimov's story. I would just call it mediocre. But sense it isn't, I have to call it out.
The movie centers around our boring protagonist, Will Smith. I can't remember his name, so it's Will Smith. Who teams up with some robot, as he unlocks a conspiracy that threatens humanity. Will Smith's character is a technophobe. Yet, it's ironic, that he conveniently has a robotic arm that helps him. And is only there for the sake of convenience.
And as I mentioned before, it disrespects the source material completely. I don't even think the writers read the book. As I think it might be a slight adaptation of one of the stories, but it doesn't follow it.
I mostly hate this film for being an adaptation that doesn't work. If it had nothing to do with the book, I'd give it a pass. But I can't.
The Visuals:
The visuals in this film are pretty bad by today's standards, but I do believe they were okay back then. And even then, I think the sleek look to everything is nice, and it did kind of try to adapt the novel in that way, I guess. Even if I imagine Asimov's world differently.
Conclusion:
I hate this film. I hate that when you search up "I, Robot" on Google, the film comes up. I hate that this film has the audacity, to take the name of a great book, and destroy it. Make it into something it's not, the opposite of what is. This film should've never been made.
And honestly, the worse part is, I would really like a film adaptation. As a sort of anthology movie. It could be a great movie, maybe even one of the greatest of all time. But we have this forgettable mess.
There is no effort put into this adaptation, it doesn't try. It just portrays the robots as beings that got too smart, and while it does try to make it sympathetic, it's not focused on enough. And it's not like the book. It's nice to take something into a new direction. But make sure that direction isn't off a cliff.