I never really wanted to see this movie. I thought that the trailers were horrible...especially how it seemed that the red-glowing robots are evil and the blue-glowing robots are good. To me it appeared that this movie would be overly simplistic and mindless. However, after several recommendations from some of my friends, I finally acquiesced. And boy were my preconceptions misguided!
Jeff Vintar's screenplay adaptation from the collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov is fast-paced, intricate, and thought-provoking. We enter a world in the not-so-distant future to discover a society where technology has advanced to the point where robots are able to collect garbage, cook food, and help around the house. Robots are trusted as safe to humans because they all inherently obey 3 laws:
- A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
However, there's one man who does NOT trust these robots...Del Spooner (Will Smith). Smith's character, whose tastes for technology seem compatible with our present time, serves as the protagonist whom we follow throughout the story. A somewhat troubled homicide detective, Spooner is the one called to the scene when the chief inventor and founder of U.S. Robotics, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), turns up dead. Prime suspect number one, according to Spooner, is Sonny, an NS5 robot who is found hiding in Dr. Lanning's office. However, getting anyone else to believe him is a daunting task. "How many robots have ever committed a crime?" his boss asks him. "None," Spooner sheepishly admits. As the mystery behind the death of Dr. Lanning unfolds, we are taken through twists and turns, chases and escapes, and a ton of fun and excitement.
What really gives this movie its authenticity and, ironically, its most expressive form of emotion, is the robot, Sonny (voiced by Alan Tudyk). The special effects for Sonny are amazing. Not once did I ever think to myself that this was not a real robot. Sonny has been programmed to simulate human emotions and to even have dreams. We fear him, sympathize with him, learn to love him, and even cheer for him. His genuineness contrasts beautifully with the stoic Spooner and U.S. Robotics psychologist, Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan).
Where the special effects for Sonny and all of the other robots where state-of-the-art, the rest of the effects were a bit shoddy. A good example of this is the scene in which Spooner's car arrives at U.S. Robotics and is parked in what looks like a giant meat closet for cars. It is a great idea, but doesn't translate well to the screen. It sort of stands out as a computer-animated cartoon rather than being realistic.
However, all in all, including the realistic robots, the wonderful and engaging mystery, the blurring of the lines between technology and humanity and the questions that naturally arise as a result, the suspense and excitement, the plot twists, and the climactic ending, it all adds up to a superb movie! I had to watch it again before I returned my rental copy to the store, and I'll probably wind up buying it soon so that I can watch it again from time to time.
Don't miss this one! It's awesome!
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