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I, Robot (2004) 

Set in a future Earth (2035 A.D.) where robots are common assistants and workers for their human owners, this is the story of "robotophobic" Chicago Police Detective Del Spooner's (Smith) investigation into the murder of Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), who works at U.S. Robotics, in which a robot, Sonny (Tudyk), appears to be implicated, even though that would mean the robot had violated the Three Laws of Robotics, which is apparently impossible. It seems impossible because.. if robots can break those laws, there's nothing to stop them from taking over the world, as humans have grown to become completely dependent upon their robots. Or maybe... they already have? Aiding Spooner in his investigation is a psychologist, Dr. Susan Calvin (Moynahan), who specializes in the psyches of robots. Written by Austin4577@aol.com

Featured Reviews:

Dustin Houser

The intriguingly futuristic film I, Robot is a beautiful work of modern special effects. The film has an action packed and suspenseful plot that follows a very thought provoking theme. The film, inspired by Isaac Asimov's novel I, Robot, follows an interesting but different plot than that in the novel. Following Detective Spooner on an investigation of the death of the head of United Sates Robotics, Dr. Alfred Lanning. In the futuristic society of this film, robots are common and are designed for the sole purpose of protecting and simplifying the lives of humans. However, Detective Spooner believes that one particular robot, who calls himself "Sonny," has motives and reasoning beyond the Three Laws of Robotics. The Three Laws are the rules in the programming of the robots that keep them from causing harm to themselves and especially the humans around them. Dr. Susan Calvin, the robopyschologist at USR, blindly denies the possibility of there being a robot that is any different from the others. It becomes clear that Sonny is very different from any other robot. Detective Spooner and Dr. Calvin discover that Dr. Lanning created Sonny uniquely for a purpose. His purpose is to attract Detective Spooner's attention because of his detest for robots, and then to lead him on a bread crumb trail to solve the mystery behind Dr. Lanning's death. During the investigation, when Detective Spooner seems to be getting closer to the answers for which he is searching, the robots begin to overtake the humans and confine them into their homes and businesses. Eventually, Detective Spooner and Dr. Calvin find the source of this major malfunction to be "Vikki," the massive positronic brain and main operating system for the robots. Vikki is learning at an exponential rate and she perceives mankind's future to be one of destruction and fatality, therefore, she tries to protect the humans from destroying themselves by reprogramming the robots to take control over the humans. With help from Sonny, Detective Spooner and Dr. Calvin stop Vikki and save the city from being overrun by robots. The theme of this film is the involvement between mankind and his creations, where his creations become so closely advanced to himself that he has to ultimately destroy his creation to save himself. This theme is so applicable to modern society because mankind's inventions are nearing these capabilities each and every day, and the question of how human can a robot be with morals still in mind is asked more often. This contraversial and thought provoking theme is displayed through a special effects marvel, with talented actors (Smith) and actresses (Moynahan) doing an excellent job of making an awesome movie as enjoyable and realistic as possible. This film is one that can be watched over and over again without getting old, making itself a 9/10 movie.

Earl Duncan Laing

I, Robot was a very interesting movie, that had absolutely nothing to do with the book.  Where the book failed, the movie completely succeeded.  The movie was action packed and very thrilling.  Will Smith portrays the role of the main character, Detective Del Spooner.  Detective Spooner is what some people consider a slight mental case.  He feels that all robots are dangerous and a threat to society.  More importantly he feels that they cannot be trusted.  Detective Spooner follows the path of the murder of Dr. Alfred Lanning.  Spooner believes that Dr. Lanning’s murderer is a robot by the name of Sonny.  Sonny’s path to justice takes Detective Spooner on a wild adventure that lets him discover the truth behind the United States Robotics Company.  The two strongest assets of the movie, was the movie’s general plot, and special effects.  The plot was very compelling and gripping.  It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire movie.  It was perfectly balanced with mystery and action, as well as occasional humor.  Will Smith was the perfect man to play Detective Spooner.  His sarcasm and charm allows him to perfectly portray Spooner.  The special effects of the movie were phenomenal.  The futuristic environment was very well constructed.  The anatomy of the robots was also very cool.  The coolest of all the special effects had to be the car chase in the movie.  It involved a high-speed chase, as well as a fight scene between Spooner and over a hundred deranged robots.  The way that the cars hovered, or had completely spherical wheels was especially cool.  Overall I thought I’ Robot was extremely enjoyable and is probably my favorite movie we have watched to date.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Dee Parks

I, Robot is one of my favorite movies.  It is, of course, made for the entertainment of today's audiences.  Whereas Asimov allowed the reader to create in his or her mind whatever images of robots the book evoked, the creators of this movie had to supply those images.  Making up ones own images from the words of a book provides a different experience for every reader.  The robots that I imagined when reading the book were completely dull compared to the robots in this film.  The robots in the movie are very high-tech and futuristic, but at the same time frighteningly believable.   I love all the images of the future that are portrayed in the film.  The U.S. Robotics building is beautiful.  The underground roadways, the cars, the robot carriers, VIKI, the holographic portrayal of Dr. Lanning, the giant bulldozer robot... all are riveting.  These things alone kept my attention, but the plot and the characters of the story are as enjoyable as the special effects.  Combine the special effects with the characters of the film and you have a great entertainment experience.  Detective Spooner and his grandmother play off one another very well and put warmth and humor into the story.  Surprisingly, one of my favorite characters is Sonny, the main robotic character.  The special effects artists worked wonders with the nuances of facial expressions in Sonny.  He could look playful, threatening, sad, inquisitive, and teasing.  At the beginning of the movie he seems dangerous and evil.  By the end, when the intricacies of the plot are understood, he is a hero who seems very nearly human.  I found myself cheering for Sonny to continue to discover ever more about himself and become more unique than he already was.  I give the film, I, Robot, a rating of 9/10.

Jamie Stevens

I, Robot, obviously a newer movie than some of our previous movies, was very technologically advanced and had an excellent plot. It is already a personal favorite of mine so I was excited to watch it. It is set in the year 2035 and tells the story of a police officer, Spooner, who hates the robots who are “taking over” the world around him. Everybody has a robot and there are new versions coming out all the time. He is chosen to solve the suspected suicide of a robot scientist. His investigation leads him to meet Dr. Calvin and Sonny, a robot, who, as a team, work together to learn that robots are in the makings of really taking over our world and changing it in order to "help" us. It has a ton of special effects and is overflowing with excitement and suspense.

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

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