I, Robot film review

certificate_12A

I, ROBOT

Hollywood takes on deep science in Alex Proyas' version of Isaac Asimov's seminal work on the nature of robotics, and after a six year lay-off since Dark City - a film that perplexed at the time but has become something of a cult favourite - he shows that he was the right choice to marry commercial Hollywood needs and a story that might actually make you think. While I, Robot has a definite studio feel to it - largely due to the presence and character of Will Smith - it has a script that picks up smartly at the halfway point and special effects that deserve to be in contention come awards time.

Set in 2035, the opening scenes depict a world where robot usage is commonplace, with robots taking the place of butlers for many citizens. In the middle of this society lives Del Spooner (Smith), a detective with a penchant for the old world of Stevie Wonder and a number of cunning stunts up his sleeve, including a robotic arm given to him by bio-mechanical expert Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell). When Lanning is found dead in his corporation headquarters one day, Spooner is sent to investigate.

What appears to be a straightforward suicide takes on new dimensions when it becomes apparent that one of the robots Lanning created may have been responsible for the doctor's death. This goes against the three laws of robotics which state that robots can never harm humans, and inevitably Spooner finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into the investigation.

The early scenes concentrate on depicting Smith as he has been depicted in all of his films except Ali - wisecracking, sexy and streetwise. There's also some badly explained issue involving a childhood accident which occasionally rears its head. Some of the awkward character exposition is continued when he encounters Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynihan) who is a Professor of robotic psychology and who is given one of the dullest characters in any of this year's blockbusters.

Remarkably things look up when the robots come to life - there are some startling set pieces in which hundreds of robots battle either each other or Smith. However the film manages the rare feat of making a robot seem both human and sympathetic. In this case comic actor Alan Tudyk does an Andy Serkis/Gollum and gives memorable and appealing characteristics to his two-dimensional alter ego Sonny.