Philosophy and science meet action in I, Robot,
the newest film from director Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow).
Based in part on the book of short stories by Isaac Asimov, Robot
imagines Chicago in the year 2035 as a place where humans and robots live together harmoniously.
Robots do all the jobs that no humans want, and they are completely trustworthy because their
behavior is based on the “Three Laws”: robots cannot hurt humans, robots must
obey humans unless doing so conflicts with the first law, and robots must protect their own
existence if it doesn’t conflict with the first two laws. However, one man doesn’t
trust them – jaded cop Del Spooner (Will Smith) – and when it
appears that a robot may have murdered someone, Spooner must convince everyone else that he
has been right all along.
The special effects in Robot are incredible.
The accused robot, Sonny, is entirely computer-generated based on the movements of actor
Alan Tudyk, and he is completely convincing alongside the live actors.
The camerawork is amazing as well, especially some computer-aided 360° shots of a battle
late in the film that is being fought on catwalks thousands of feet in the air. But the
best thing about Robot is the presence of an intriguing story that grounds the
effects. Like The Matrix, A.I., and many other films before it, Robot
poses questions about our relationship with technology and the responsibility that goes
with building beings with artificial intelligence. Although there are some plot holes, on
the whole Robot is a nice relief from the usual brainless summer popcorn flicks.
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