"I" is for I, Robot
Friday, March 27, 2009 at 5:00AM 
Might make you rethink getting that Roomba...
Continuing the Cheese Alphabet, we have I, Robot as the representative of the letter I. This blockbuster starring Will Smith might seem a little more sophisticated, and even philosophical, than my usual fare, but that doesn't mean it isn't loaded up with a good dose of cheese and giggle factor.
Will Smith has a lot to do with how much I enjoy this movie. He's charming, funny, and self-deprecating. I don't think another actor could have pulled off the subtleties this particular role required, including rescuing a cat from a house being demolished. This is a man who distrusts the mechanized beings that are taking care of us more and more, yet finds himself uneasily defending one of them when it becomes clear there's more to the story than a simple murder or suicide. Bridget Moynahan makes for a good contrast to his warmth by being a little too precise, a little too formal, and being the one in charge of giving the robots that 'personal' feel. She also stands up against Mr. Smith's testosterone levels without overt sexual chemistry. Part of me is disappointed there isn't an actual romance, but that would have disrupted the flow of the movie without enough payoff.
The character of Sonny is intriguing, and also well played. The facial expressions are slight, but convey much, especially when paired with the voice of Alan Tudyk. He is a robot that is sentient, yet despite knowing humans want to deactivate him, he's still sympathetic to their plight and wishes to help them. It's interesting to watch Sonny and Spooner (Smith) interact, and how their relationship changes. Sonny doesn't change, but is the catalyst for the other characters to evolve. A scene between Sonny and Susan (Moynahan) is quite moving as the robot asks her if his deactivation will be painful.
The story starts off with an apparent suicide, quickly transgresses to the arrest of Sonny as a murder suspect, and morphs into all sorts of political and technological intrigue. Are the robots really rising up against us? Robots are building robots, after all, so that can't be a good thing with so little oversight. The last straw for Spooner is when his dear grandmother wins a robot of her own and prepares one of her classic desserts with her. He's determined to uncover the conspiracy, and the action just picks up from there.
I never read any of Isaac Asimov's works, so for me this was just a good, solid sci fi movie about robots in the future. It's softer than a Terminator movie, but still issues a warning about placing our trust too much in technology, as well as in our need to humanize everything in order to relate to it. I enjoyed a lot of action, some good one liners, and solid acting. I'm sure I should have taken away a lot more from it than the entertainment value, but I don't. It's a lot of flash, and a lot of fun, and doesn't leave me feel beaten down.
If you have never watched this one, I highly recommend it for a little bit of guilty escapism. You know you're supposed to mull the implications of I, Robot over, but really, it's just a great futuristic cop movie. With robots. Lots and lots of robots.
Reader Comments (1)
My wife liked it too.
However, you do have to divorce yourself from Asimov's I, Robot stories to enjoy it: they used the name and took one hell of a left turn away from the material.
Moynahan did a good job of capturing Dr Susan Calvin, Robopsycologist: cold with humans, warm with robots.
Don't tell Madpoet_one that I actually enjoyed the movie.