"I, Robot" is the loose adaptation of certain elements from a slew of stories written by Isaac Asimov.
In the film, set in 2035 Chicago, Will Smith portrays Del Spooner, a Chicago police detective with a well-known phobia of robots.
On the eve of the largest robot distribution in history, which would yield extremely advanced robot for one to every five humans worldwide, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), the brain behind Chicago-based U.S. Robotics is found dead after an apparent suicide.
After being requested by name to handle the case, homicide specialist Spooner questions the truth behind U.S. Robots, a company worth billions.
While searching the crime scene, Spooner encounters Sonny, one of the brand new robots, an NS5 with emotions and a name (Alan Tudyk).
Thus unravels a race to pick up the crumb trail of clues left by Lanning before his death. Such a task is very difficult when it comes to believing that a humanoid, created by humans and programmed never to harm a human, could be capable of murdering its creator.
Science fiction movies aim to be unbelievable, yet many of them rely on the current or potential bad aspects of society in order to give them depth.
"I, Robot" is one of those films, that between the loads of robot and human violence, a message of prejudice and the meaning of life shines through.
Smith, while not necessarily a bad choice for the role, plays Spooner exactly as he played J in "Men in Black" and Capt. Steve Hiller in "Independence Day" - with attitude. While Smith might be known for his signature movie attitude, it would have been nice to have a more serious actor in his position.
Whether he's talking about his vintage 2004 Converse All-star high tops, offering half-assed advice to teenage acquaintance Farber (Shia LaBeouf) or driving Lieutenant John Bergin (Chi McBride) crazy, Smith's acting abilities haven't changed much from his "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" days.
The beautiful Bridget Moynahan plays Dr. Susan Calvin, a U.S. Robotics employee in charge of making the humanoids seem more human. As a robotics specialist and a psychologist, Calvin is portrayed as incredibly smart but she seems a little air-headed at times and her part hardly adds as much as it could to the understanding of the evolution of the robots' mental capacities.
The acting isn't perfect, but the script was well-written. While the phobia of computers and robots taking over has been around since one computer took up an entire room, "I, Robot" does a good job of expanding the idea with exciting action and thoughtful questions relating to the self and technology.
The special effects are excellent at some points, especially in high-speed car chases through the underground highways of Chicago. Yet, the action unfortunately takes a brief dip while Spooner does some soul searching as he searches for Lanning's killer.
If you can see humor in the massive futuristic Audi promotion and if Will Smith can do no wrong in your mind, "I, Robot" could be one of the more entertaining films of the summer.
The film has an unexpected twist and actually a lot better than the television trailers make it out to be.
If you liked this, you might also like: The Matrix, Independence Day
