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| Overview: |
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Will Smith stars in this action thriller I, Robot inspired by the classic short story collection by Isaac Asimov and brought to the big screen by director Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow). In the year 2035, robots are an everyday household item and everyone trusts them, except one slightly paranoid detective (Will Smith) investigating what he alone believes is a crime perpetrated by a robot. The case leads him to discover a far more frightening threat to the human race.
IN Yogi Berra's immortal phrase, "I, Robot "may be d?j? vu all over again, but Hollywood's umpteenth tale of a robot run amok tale is surprisingly smart, cool-looking, nicely paced and well-acted. As Del (Will Smith), a disgruntled police detective in 2035 Chicago, Will Smith may be treading in the well-worn footsteps of Harrison Ford and "Blade Runner" but he does it with great panache and much funnier line delivery.
In I, Robot, Robot's have taken over menial tasks from trash collection to FedEx deliveries, but (Will Smith) is having no part of it. It isn't just that (Will Smith) is old school - which he is, to the point where he uses an old-fashioned alarm clock and manual CD player instead of voice-activated or robot models.
(Will Smith) has ample reasons - hinted at in glimpses of his nightmares - to be skeptical of the protections guaranteed by the Three Laws of Robotics, which state robot's cannot harm humans, must obey humans, and can only protect themselves by following the first two laws.
So when the robot's sage inventor (James Cromwell) is found dead of an apparent suicide - and leaves behind a series of cryptic hologram messages - (Will Smith) is quick to suspect the inventor's latest creation, Sonny (voiced by British actor Alan Tudyk, who also modeled the computer-generated character's graceful body movements).
Loosely "inspired" by sci-fi legend Isaac Asimov's 1950 collection of robot stories and an unrelated script by Jeff Vintar ("Final Fantasy") - melded together with the help of Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind") and an uncredited Hillary Seitz ("Insomnia") - "I, Robot" travels awfully familiar sci-fi territory, even if it is great fun.
There is the beautiful robot psychologist (an excellent Bridget Moynahan) in I, Robot, who at the outset seems as rigid as her subjects. Spooner's (Will Smith) exasperated but sympathetic supervisor (Chi McBride), who at one point, yes, asks for his badge; and the sinister corporate force behind the robot's (the always underrated Bruce Greenwood). And, apparently for demographic reasons, the filmmakers have thrown in teenage troublemaker-turned-hero (Shia LaBeouf) and even Spooner's (Will Smith) granny (Adrian Ricard), who hopes to win a robot of her own in the lottery.
There aren't many surprises in I, Robot as (Will Smith) uncovers a conspiracy that climaxes with a full-blown robot rebellion, one of several first-rate action sequences - another, an attack by a squad of robot's on (Will Smith) in a car tunnel, is a doozy - that are handled with crowd-pleasing efficiency and visual flair by director Alex Proyas ("Dark City,""The Crow"). Alex Proyas also gets the best performance to date out of Will Smith, who combines the one-liners of his earlier blockbusters with some serious acting (and has an eye-popping nude shower scene at the beginning).
"I, Robot" may not be as inspired as "A.I." or "Minority Report" - which share its concerns about personal liberty and the risks posed by technology - but thankfully, it's light years ahead of such dumb exercises as "Terminator 3" and "The Matrix Revolutions." |
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Click the actor or director's name to view a list of their other titles
Starring:
Will Smith | Bridget Moynahan | Alan Tudyk | James Cromwell | Bruce Greenwood | Adrian Ricard | Chi McBride | Jerry Wasserman CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL CAST LIST
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| Directed By:
Alex Proyas |
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| Technical Information: |
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| Genre:
Action/Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Teens, Thriller/Suspense |
| Release Date:
October 1, 2008 |
| Format: Region 1 |
| Rating:
PG-13 |
| Year:
2004 |
| Regional Coding:
R1:
Will only play on North American Region 1 or multi-region DVD players.
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| Number of Discs:
1 |
| Subtitles:
English, Spanish |
| Screen Ratio:
Full Screen Edition - 1.33:1 |
| Sound System:
French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS) |
| Running Time:
105 minutes |
| Studio:
20th Century Fox
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| Catalogue Number:
2225604 |
| UPC/Barcode Number:
024543156048 |
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Closed-Captioned: Yes |
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Color: Yes |
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| Special Features: |
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Commentary by Director Alex Proyas and Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman.
The making of I, Robot (12:35)
Still Gallery (30 stills)
Fox's Inside Look: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Robots, and Elektra
Trailer: Arrested Development (:30) |
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