I, ROBOT

 

"There's something wrong with the robots"

Chicago 2035, USR are about to have their biggest product rollout with the introduction of their new robot, the NS-5. Things don't go according to plan when the father of modern robotics Dr. Alfred Lanning (Cromwell) commits suicide. Detective Del Spooner (Smith) is assigned the case and on investigation of the crime scene he finds the only witness to the event, Dr. Lanning's personal robot Sonny (Tudyk). But the way the robot is acting brings him to think of the impossible. Has a robot actually gone against its programming and murdered a human being?

As technology advances and the possibility of robots in every home looks more than likely to become a reality, this movie asks "can we ever truly trust artificial intelligence with our lives?" According to I, Robot answer is a definite no.

The filmmakers have cleverly developed a sci-fi murder mystery based on Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and this is the major plus point of the movie. This is an event movie with a plot. Now don't gasp and faint when you read those words but Hollywood might just be waking up to the fact that the viewing public might actually want to have more than just pointless filler between their action sequences. 'I, Robot' has the big, explosive special effects events but interweaving them together is a twisting and turning murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the action packed finale. It also stays away from many of the clichéd plotlines of the genre by not making too many statements and just sticking to the one continuous theme, will artificial intelligence be able to evolve?

Besides from the twisty-turny plot, the special effects are magnificent. As technology progresses, filmmakers have the ability to bring anything to life on the big screen but they have to know how to use it. Director Alex Proyas and his team use SFX to the best of its ability to create a believeable vision of the future. 2035 Chicago doesn't look too advanced with all the technology looking like it is certainly obtainable from the level of advancement we are realising today. Even the robots themselves look plausible. This is a vision of the future that you can see happening very easily and this is what makes the movie so intriguing.

A good plot and amazing visuals are backed up by some good performances. There are two versions of Will Smith, the big budget, overly confident Big Willy (Bad Boys II, Wild, Wild West etc) and the character driven thespian William (Ali, Six Degrees of Separation etc). For this movie we get a combination of the two to create a slightly quieter, more likeable character. Detective Del Spooner is a slightly clichéd movie cop that is a little out of place in this futurist setting but as the story progresses you realise that this is integral to the plot. This is another strength of the movie as the audience easily connects with Smith's character and you can understand his apprehensiveness against the robots. There are some times that he does get slightly too much but this isn't enough to deter you from the character. Bridget Moynahan continues to make a name for herself as Dr Susan Calvin. Her character has most of the techno-babble of the piece and she copes with this extremely well. The role might see her as the typical nerd out of the lab during the action sequences but Moynahan really grows into the character as the film progresses. There is also good support from the ever brilliant and totally underrated Bruce Greenwood as USR CEO Lawrence Robinson and Chi McBride as the sceptical Lt. Bergin.

Stealing the show is the performance of Alan Tudyk as Sonny. Done in the much same way as Andy Serkis did with Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Tudyk creates a virtual performance that is replaced by the CG created character. In essence his acting is the framework for bringing Sonny to live. His vocal performance is also first rate, breathing life into Sonny but never making him too childlike or annoying.

I, Robot is first rate Hollywood entertainment. It is brilliant to see that plot is becoming important again in filmmaking and this is a movie that shows that you can mix a complex murder mystery with all the big bangs, SFX and action sequences you expect from a big budget blockbuster. Could Hollywood actually be starting to listen to the viewing public and spending their time just as much as on story as they do on creating the spectacle?

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a choice between a Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts soundtracks, this is a very good transfer. Alex Proyas's vision of the future is vividly brought to life through a stunningly sharp picture. The sound is also superb, especially during the jaw dropping action sequences. The inclusion of a dts track is also an added bonus to a excellently presented DVD.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by director Alex Proyas and screenwriter Akira Goldsmith
Recorded six weeks before the release of the movie, the director and writer come together to bring us an informative commentary track. They discuss the influence of Isaac Asimov's novel and how they highlighted the three laws of Robotics for the movie. The pair also reveals how the movie is not your typical science fiction movie, as they wanted to produce a realistic look at a possible future. Goldsmith reveals how he worked on plot building and he talks about his own writing styles. Proyas talks about how he approached the movie, as well as casting and the technological elements of the film. This is a decent commentary that offers an insight into how a huge budget movie is produced.

Technical Commentary
Production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, editor Richard Learoyd, visual effects supervisor John Nelson, associate producer John Kilkenny, animation supervisor Andrew Jones and the FX teams from Digital Domain, WETA Digital and Rainmaker talk about the technical aspects of I, Robot. This is an inter-cut commentary, where the people involved comment on the scenes they where involved in. The teams talk about creating a realistic version of a possible future Chicago that is not above the realms of possibility. They also go into great detail about how they designed and created the Robot effects for the movie. This commentary gives you a fascinating insight into how the SFX are created for a major production.

Commentary to isolated score by composer Marco Beltrami
With no dialogue or sound effects you can watch the movie with just Marco Beltrami's score, with insights from the composer himself. He introduces all of his pieces and reveals how the music was written and the influences behind it. With only intermittent commentary, this is still quite insightful as it reveals the pressure that a composer is under and the short about of time they have to write a score.

The Making of I, Robot (12.34 mins)
Director Alex Proyas, producers John Davis, Topher Dow, Wyck Godfrey and Steven McGlothen, special effects supervisor John Nelson, Robot movement consultant Paul Mercurio and stars Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood and Alan Tudyk take you behind the scenes of I, Robot. The group discuss the three laws of Robotics, the plot, characters and creating a realistic look of the future. This is a run of the mill featurette that doesn't go into as much detail as you would want. Still Gallery Your chance to see concept art for the Robots and behind the scenes images from shoot

Inside Look
Watch the trailer for AVP: Alien vs. Predator, go behind the scenes of the comic book movie Elektra with star Jennifer Garner and watch a trailer for 24: Season Three

Trailers
Previews for Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, The Clearing, Johnson Family Vacation, The Day After Tomorrow and Garfield

Special Features Disc 2:

OVERALL

The single DVD release of I, Robot is a bit of a mixed bag for people discovering the movie. The three commentary tracks are very good and extremely informative, giving you a fascinating insight into the making of a big budget movie. The making of featurette on the other hand is very short and not as informative as it could have been. While fans and film fanatics will go out and buy the two-disc special edition, Fox could have offered a bit more to the casual fan.

DVD

Minority Report

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2004