July 22, 2004

Film Review

‘I, Robot’ entertaining but no Oscar contender

By Val Esquivel
Special to the Times

Spider-Man has been defeated! This time it’s not by the nefarious Doctor Octopus, but by a far more powerful adversary, the fresh prince of Bel Air—Will Smith. “I, Robot” was released on Friday with weekend receipts totaling $52.2 million, besting “Spider-Man 2’s” $24.2 million.

Based on the works of science fiction author Isaac Asimov, Will Smith plays homicide detective Del Spooner, living in Chicago circa 2035. He is called to the scene of a crime at the US Robotics headquarters (does 3Com know about this?), where the pioneer of household robotics lies dead. The only clue to his untimely demise lies in a holographic image of himself prompting Spooner with clues to his death and allusions of something far more sinister. During his journey, Spooner teams with the very stoic Dr. Susan Calvin, played by Bridget Moynahan (who acts more like a replicant in “Blade Runner” than a romantic interest to Spooner) and the rogue robot Sonny (Alan Tudyk). Sonny not only provides more personality then Calvin but also raises the topic of free will in this futuristic society.

If the future unrolls as it does in this film, prosthetic limbs will be replaced by bionic enhancements granting the recipients superhuman abilities; retro Converse sneakers will allow the person wearing them to defy gravity as well general laws of physics; and homicide detectives will be driving specially equipped Audi luxury cars with no need for valets. Outside of over-saturated product placement, the future looks bright.

Just like any futuristic film, “I, Robot” also has a rendition of an omniscient presence similar to Big Brother in “1984:” the malevolent super-computer known as VIKI. Similar to HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Skynet in the “Terminator” trilogy, in 2035, society still has not learned that ultimately over a given period of time, machines will attain a sentient presence and try to enslave their human creators. The only drawback to this plot twist was that the threat was named VIKI. Wasn’t she that cute little android girl in the syndicated TV show of the 1980s “Small Wonder?” I guess VIKI is all grown up now.

As far as being an entertaining film, “I, Robot” is just that—entertaining. It won’t be showered with Oscar nominations and it should not be dissected in classrooms as a metaphor for oppression as the masses search for a messiah. Since 1996 (“Independence Day”), Will Smith has entertained us with summer blockbusters and “I, Robot” continues this trend. Coming from the man that brought you the classic anthem of the season, “Summertime,” I think he accomplished what he set forth to do.