Review

Review Date: 18-July-04
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

I, Robot (2004)

A tricky proposition, this: melding the Will Smith Action Movie with the sci-fi imaginings of Isaac Asimov, the pithy quotables and car chases of summer cinema with the philosophical propensity of all stories related to man's technocratic future. "I, Robot," directed by Alex Proyas, takes on the challenge of becoming a thinking-person's action flick and manages to locate a happy medium in which a popular American movie star can spout quips and shoot things while still promoting ideas about the essence of human nature.

The ever-likable Smith (who, we learn, also looks great in the shower) plays Del Spooner, a Chicago homicide detective in 2035 who possesses the haunting past of all noteworthy cops. He drops references to a divorce early on, but there's something more at work here, as attested by his recurring nightmare and strange hatred of that most innocuous of modern time-savers, the robot. Spooner's superior officer (Chi McBride) wants to go easy on the guy but has to admit that he is delusionally paranoid. Robots, as everyone knows, keep business running smoothly and families safe and comfortable, and they never, ever harm anybody thanks to the famous Three Laws of their maker, US Robotics.

However, when Spooner receives a summons to USR and finds its chief engineer dead of questionable suicide, he begins to follow a trail of clues that corroborate his much-mocked suspicions. His investigation into the corporation and its new line of NS-5s leads to a roboto-psychologist named Dr. Calvin (Bridget Moynahan) and an unusually emotional prototype named Sonny (voiced by Alan Tudyk). Dr. Calvin's presence, alas, is entirely formulaic (the frigid young scientist in tight leather pants, yada yada yada), but Moynahan brings as much as she can to the role and gets away with being only slightly less sympathetic than her engaging CGI counterpart.

What follows next is fairly predictable (an attempt at world domination, stylized violence, unexpected loyalty, etc.) and contains a number of holes. (And admittedly, I could have done without Spooner's medical history and Shia LaBeouf as a neighborhood kid.) But the script by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman keeps a steady pace and a balanced mix of action and dialogue, and it never strays too far from the consistently intriguing question about the line between machine and man and what makes the latter more valuable.

Ironically, advancements in digital technology almost work against this aspect of "I, Robot." Most of the titular machines lack the clunky, man-in-a-metal-suit look of ancient times (i.e., when movies were made without computers), and the fluid movements of their faces and bodies rid them of the appearance of insentience. This clouds the distinction between humans and androids and suggests the rather frightening conclusion that while our interior beauty is expressed through the ability to make illogical choices, we could still use an upgrade as long as it contains the proper programming. Perhaps this is why we get a glimpse of Spooner's physical beauty in the shower, and perhaps this indistinct quality befits a movie that bridges the gap between the popcorn crowd and people who like to confer over coffee after the credits roll.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.