I, Robot

DVD Case
Released July 16, 2004 (IMDB)

First things first, this movie has only has a few things in common with the book of short stories written by Isaac Asimov (also reviewed). Keep in mind that the NAME was licensed to the movie studio after the script was already written. Scenes were adjusted to include the 3 laws, Susan Calvin, and Alfred Lanning. That is about where the similarities between the book and the movie end. There might be a few concepts stripped from some of the stories, but by no means is the film “based” on the book. To give the movie makers credit, they only say “inspired” by in the opening.

With that said, this is a good Sci-Fi action movie. I am sure I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I hadn’t spent most of my time trying to place which stories the movie was supposed to be based off of. The movie takes place in 2035 where there are lots of robots being used for labor. Detective Spooner (Will Smith) portrays a character that doesn’t trust robots. Early on there is a murder investigation and Spooner suspects a robot that fled the scene of the crime. Everyone else thinks he’s crazy because according to the 3 Laws a Robot cannot harm a human.

The rest of the movie revolves around Spooner’s investigation into the murder. He teams up with Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan) and tries to get her help to prove something is going on with the robots. Another distraction in the movie for an Asimov fan is that Dr. Calvin is hot. I always pictured Dr. Calvin as this old crass woman that would make your blood freeze if she looked at you the wrong way. Many characters in Asimov’s novels thought that she might actually be a robot herself. Anyway, the interaction between Spooner & Calvin gets heated at times while also injecting points of humor to lighten the mood.

Overall, this is a good Sci-Fi movie, but Asimov fans need to keep in mind that this script wasn’t meant to be I, Robot from the start. I would watch this movie again with a friend that hadn’t seen it, especially since I already own the DVD. I plan on reading have reviewed the original I, Robot Illustrated Screenplay by Harlan Ellison. I believe Asimov personally read this script and approved of it.

–edit– 4-16-2008
I just ran across this interesting NPR story from 2004 that talks about the fan reaction to the original I, Robot movie. There are a few comments from Harlan Ellison and Irving Kirchner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, as one the prospective directors. The audio story is available in Real Media and Windows Media Player formats.
–edit–

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you are a human * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Post

Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus (2009) directed by Jack PerezMega Shark versus Giant Octopus (2009) directed by Jack Perez

My wife and I were spending some time with our friends this weekend. We were trying to figure out what to do while we ate our lunch, so we flipped through some Netflix streaming titles. Eventually, Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus popped up. This movie sounded familiar. Where had I heard of it before? I could have sworn I saw a trailer on YouTube or something like that a while back, but I wrote it off as being some type of joke. Sadly, this was not the case. There was some reluctance for everyone to watch it despite my desperate pleadings. Everyone gave in and we embarked on an experience that nearly defies explanation.
(more…)

Snowtrooper meet Luke Skywalker, time to die!Snowtrooper meet Luke Skywalker, time to die!

The Empire Strikes Back snow trooper

Snowtrooper action figure

I had the opportunity to meet a couple “online” friends this past weekend. I’ve talked to these guys for several years through various online games, instant messaging, Ventrilo/TeamSpeak, and e-mail. Meeting them was a very interesting and enjoyable experience. BrainAlien, a guy I’ve known online since 1999, gave me a Snowtrooper action figure. He knows I’m a huge Star Wars fan, so I really appreciate it. If I ever find my Luke Skywalker in X-Wing suit, I’ll have to have a little battle to relive some childhood moments.

Thanks BrainAlien!

Yes, I am still aliveYes, I am still alive

Where have I been lately? A number of factors have resulted in me not posting since December. One of which was that over the past few months I’ve been chipping away at The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. At just shy of 1,000 pages, it has been my lunch time reading for a while now. There are a couple short stories that I plan on reviewing, as soon as I can remember to bring the book home from work. I’ve also been filling most of my free time, 177 hours now, with playing Battlefield 3 (my stats).

I’ve watched a few movies, but I didn’t get around to reviewing those. One was Gamer, which I didn’t expect much from. The other was Battle: Los Angeles, a cookie cutter “aliens attack, let’s fight back” movie. I didn’t really “watch” these as much as listened to them as I cleaned out my office. After going through my recent posts, I noticed that I never reviewed 28 Weeks Later. This was actually one of the sequels I’ve seen that I liked more than the original. I might have to re-watch, then write up a review. I watched a decent movie last night though, The Adjustment Bureau, which I plan on reviewing in the next few days, if not tonight. My goal for myself is to have it done before the end of the month. Thank goodness for leap years!

OK, enough excuses. Thanks to all of you that still have me in your newsreader. I’ll try to be better about posting updates in the future.