Bicentennial Man Reviews

 

 

Kelsey Adair

 

Bicentennial Man was by far one of the best films we’ve watched so far this year. Robin Williams did a fantastic job of his portrayal of the household robot Andrew. He had the perfect combination of wit and charm to captivate the audience. The movie follows Andrew through his journey serving his family for two centuries. Eventually, after reading many books, Andrew gets the idea that he should strive for freedom. Freedom is a concept that many people today take for granted, but most people would be willing to fight to the death to have their freedom. This is a reminder to all of us of how important our freedom really is. Andrew’s owner gives him his freedom, and kicks him out of the house altogether. Eventually, Andrew’s journey continues to include a quest to become human. Andrew’s journey teaches us the importance of knowledge and not necessarily conforming to everyone else’s beliefs. It is important that we, as individuals, figure things out for ourselves. Although the movie seemed slow at times, the overall plot was intriguing and kept the film moving forward. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone.

 

Josh Berting

Bicentennial Man is a 1999 film directed by Chris Columbus, starring Robin Williams, and having a runtime of 132 minutes. The movie is based off the Sci-Fi novel, “Bicentennial Man,” by Isaac Asimov, and follows the 200 hundred year journey of one robot, Andrew, to become human. The movie in my opinion is a cross between AI: Artificial Intelligence and the more recent i, Robot, in that it crosses an almost modern day Pinocchio tale with the three laws of robotics which remain at the center of many of Isaac Asimov’s stories. The movie is a little lengthy and is void of most if not all action. However, though lengthy it is still a quality film with solid actors, and starring the talented Robin Williams. I would give this movie a high rating, though not necessarily one of the highest it is still recommendable.

 

Brittany Burton

To me, Bicentennial Man was one of the most future-forward and touching movies we've watched as a class. Robin Williams plays a robot, Andrew, who's life goal is to become human. Although it is thought impossible at the time, his loving family tries to make this dream as realistic as possible. Over the 200 year span of his life, Andrew goes gains many human-like attributes, such as humor and love. After being passed down from generation to generation, Andrew realizes his true love for an ancestor of the family he is with. Thus, making him even more obsessed with becomming human. The effects in this movie were pretty good for its time. I feel a lot more could have been done to make the movie more entertaining based on special effects. One of the most interesting parts of the movie is the progression of Andrew from robot to human-like. Overall, I would rate this movie 8 out of 10. Mostly because Robin Williams is just so darn entertaining.

 

Kevin Caskey

 

 

Marco Flores

 

 

Emily Hager

I must say, I didn't expect much out of Bicentennial Man, but it surprised me in a good way. It is a charming story of a robot who begins his life normally, but very soon he shows some talents most robots do not have, like creativity. The movie follows his long life, his journey from robot to man. It involves a lot of technological leaps of faith, but the basic principle is very thought-provoking and pretty realistic. Its ironic, but the best word I can use to describe this movie is human. Its just a very human movie, because the way Andrew struggles to become human reminds us of ourselves in some way, all of us just trying to find who we really are, and thats all that Andrew is doing, really. It is hilarious in parts, because its Robin Williams, and sad in parts too. It was a bit cheesy sometimes, and slow, and it is kind of unbelievable that you could manufacture an entire working human body. Overall though, it was a pretty decent movie that gives us a second look at what we define as a person.

 

 

Stephanie Herndon

Out of all the movies we have watched, Bicentennial Man was probably my favorite. Besides being hilarious and very cute, the movie really makes the viewer think about the social issues behind robots. The robot, Andrew, not only forms emotional attachments to humans, but also has a desire for freedom, a trait attributed solely to humans. Such an abstract idea is hard to solidify into an idea that can be programmed into a machine. However, through some kind of "malfunction," Andrew becomes aware of his situation and desires freedom and relationships with humans on human terms, instead of robotic terms. This idea in itself draws controversy. If a robot could form this kind of malfunction, what is stopping it from malfunction in a negative fashion and possibly hurting humans? In the end, Andrew has not only made money and become a success in human terms, but has also had surgeries that make him legally considered human. This alone is one of the most astounding aspects of the movie! When you think about it, this means that humans have virtually built anoher human. Is it right to assume that humans can "play God" in such a way? The movie was very good! It makes you want to laugh, cry and befriend a robot! :)

 

 

Dustin Houser

Bicentennial Man was easily one of my favorite films this semester, the main reason being that Robin Williams is possibly my favorite actor. He does a magnificent job of playing such a complicated role. The main theme in this movie is a robot's, "Andrew's," journey from a robot to a human being, his battle to become accepted by society as a man. I think this is an interesting theme, and the producers of this film do a fantastic job of making this theme interesting by coupling it with a very realistic plot. They make it easy to connect to the characters in the film, especially Andrew, the robot who becomes a man by making enhancements toward becoming human at several different increments. There was an emotional connection with Andrew, and it was easy to feel sympathetic for him when the courts originally did not allow for him to be considered human. It was equally easy to feel happy for him when he is elected to be called a human being, and the oldest man since the times of Moses and Methuselah. It was interesting to see this allusion to Biblical figures and times. The ending is a little difficult and pretty ironic, but it evokes an extreme amount of sadness and sympathy. I would suggest this film to others to watch. It has amazing visual effects and the plot is interesting and acted out well by a wisely selected cast. I would give this movie a rating of 9/10.

 

Earl Duncan Laing

Bicentennial Man was a very entertaining movie. Although very slow at times, the general plot told the story of a robot by the name of Andrew. Andrew is a very unique and gifted robot. He is much more human than any other robot of his kind. Over time, Andrew's owner comes to discover his uniqueness and just how special Andrew really is. He begins to instruct Andrew on the many things which he does not understand due to the fact that he did not come preprogramed with that certain understanding. Over time, Andrew comes to notice how truly different he is, and strives to become more humanlike. Andrew then develops an obsession with becoming as humanlike as possible. First, Andrew aquires a facial upgrade which allows him to show more facial expression. As the movie progresses Andrew recieves upgrades such as artificial skin and actual organs. In a way, Andrew actually becomes human, with the exception of not being concieved as a human being. The plot, although boring at times, is really actually very interesting and entertaining. The special effects were also pretty good, but you never really see too much futuristic technology that is completely mindblowing. The general concept of an actual robot being turned into a human is the coolest thing about the movie. Another small detail of the movie which is incorrect is the time period in which it was set. The technology in the movie is far more advanced than the technology in the real world. Overall, Bicentennial Man was an entertaining movie which was quite enjoyable.

 

Overall Rating: 6/10

 

 

Kara Learman

This movie was overall an enjoyable movie. It was better than most that we have watched. The story was that of Andrew, a robot who was more human that all other robots. The family that bought him soon figures that out. The husband, head of the house, begins to teach Andrew about things of the human world, things like humor. The plot follows Andrew's progress in learning the ways of humans and Andrew's realization of his intense uniqueness. He desires to become more and more human over time and undergoes a series of mechanical changes, all the while staying close with the sequential generations of his origional famliy. Ultimately he upgrades to an incredibly accurate depection of a human, with skin and organs. He finds love eventually and the movie ends in a very touching scene. It has been one of the top movies that I have watched with this class and I completely enjoyed it. I highly recommend it to anyone and give it an overall rating of 8 out of 10.

 

 

Matt Lynch

Bicentennail Man was a very different yet enjoyable movie. The movie focused on the life of a robot Andrew (Robin Williams). Andrew is bought by a family who soon realize that he is a very special robot. Andrew is found to have emotions are creativeness which has not been seen in anyother robot. The father of the family, Mr. Martin, begins teaching Andrew things he was not programmed with like a sense of humor. Andrew desires to become as human as possible. He infact desires to "BE" human. Andrew does all in his ability to upgrade to become human. After obtaining all the upgrades he could, Andrew "becomes human." He looks, acts, feels and even ages like a human would. After all his trouble Andrew is finally declared a human and decides to be "unplugged" so he can "die" as the oldest recorded human at 200 years old. This is a very touching movie. I would have liked to have gotten an explanation to why Andrew was special. There was no clear cut explanation to why Andrew was so human. Bicentennial man was a good movie, boring and slow at some parts, but overall a decent movie that most people should enjoy.

 

 

John Nunns

Bicentennial Man is a rather slow yet entertaining movie. The movie includes a robot character named Andrew, who out of all the robots of his same model is far more humanlike than the rest. The family that buys him almost immediately notices this when they realize andrew "enjoys" making objects out of wood, an emotion that's not supposed to be shown by a robot. As time progresses, Andrew wants more and more to become like a human, with no explanation why Andrew is this way. He grows to want to know the feelings of freedom and love, and by the end of the movie he is able to experience both. He starts out as robot made from metal parts and is transformed into a robot that has skin, hair, organs, etc. There is no need for any amazing special effects or action, as this movie is more about the life of a gifted robot wanting to be like a human. The story and plot are enough to keep the viewer entertained. Overall this was a good movie and explored some interesting theories on robots.

 

Dee Parks

 

 

Amanda Pudney

This movie is a very interesting one. I can't really make up my mind as to whether or not I liked it. It raised very valuable questions concerning the humanity of robots and the individuality they could possibly possess, but the plot is a very tedious one that seems to drag on for ages. I don't find many aspects of the plot valid, such as going from a robot to a human. I think there is a definite plot hole concerning the generation of a soul or whatever makes an individual unique, ut the producers and storywriters seem to have bypassed that. They make the main robot "special." Andrew is, in fact, unlike any other robot the company has created. The makers don't give an adequate explanation as to why Andrew seems to possess emotions and curiosity and other human traits. They simply cast it off like a "technical malfunction." But if you bypass the huge improbability, I suppose it's worthwhile to entertain the notion of how humans should treat human-like robots. It certainly seems unkind to throw a robot out of the window, but shouldn't it be considered as another machine? Or are the people in the film interested in the concept of replacing humans with robots. Could they be companions to humans? How about robots as romantic interests of humans? The woman fell in love with Andrew, which I find quite implausible. Overall, I think it's a nice attempt at getting people to think about the future of robotics and how they effect human life, but the inconsistencies and unrealistic plot get in the way of the film. I give this movie a 4/10.

 

Austin Reiter

Bicentennial Man was a decent movie overall. This movie features an android, named Andrew, who is purchased as a household robot, but who develops a unique personality of his own. Andrew eventually gains his freedom, and through advances in technology, slowly starts to become more human. Eventually Andrew falls in love, and, at the end of the movie, is finally declared to be a human being. He dies shortly thereafter. The plot was well thought out, though it tended to be somewhat dull and move slowly, and the acting, in my opinion, was superb. Overall, I liked the movie. And Mikey? Well, he liked it too.

 

Michael Salley

I can't decide if Bicentennial Man was my favorite movie of the semester or if one other surpassed it - either way, i enjoyed it FAR more than most of the others. In addition to the fact that Robin Williams is perhaps my favorite modern day actor, the plot and style of the movie was refreshingly deep and humorous - a vast improvement over many of the films we watched. Those who know me will undoubtedly agree - humor is the most important standard I look at in rating things. I laughed more at the dialogue in this movie than in any other - and it still managed to provoke better thoughts than others. This movie perhaps more even than Star Wars, one of my other favorites, showed robots in a positive light rather than in a negative one.

 

If there was a cliché in the movie to which I objected, it was that Robin's human character (names escape me) was the typical "rich successful guy" - I was the only one that noticed but the Mercedes-Benz he drove was the top of the line for its model year, and his home was more of a mansion. I have nothing against rich people - but in a society that produced such an evolved robot, one would suppose that said robot would have been made affordable for the masses as well. Despite this objection, the movie was fantastic. "One understands why some animals eat their young" :-D

 

 

Jamie Stevens

I left this movie feeling pretty happy. Overall, I felt like it was a good, emotional movie. Definitely a good "chick flick" and it still had some guy qualities. I thought that the plot and the characters of the story were very good, but the special effects weren't the best that we had seen. It was a timeless story of a robot who wanted to be a "real boy," kind of like A.I. It was very heartwarming the way he found a human wife who loved him for the person he was inside. Like I said before, I don't know if this was quite as technologically advanced as some of the movies that we have watched, but overall I thought it was one of the better ones.

 

Rating: 7 out of 10

 

 

Jesse Talbott

 Bicentennial Man is a heartwarming story of a Robot and his quest to become human.  The main character, Andrew (played by Robin Williams), starts out as a mindless butler for a wealthy family.  Soon the family begins to notice that Andrew is unlike any other robot they had ever seen.  He could carve artwork out of driftwood, and play the piano masterfully, and soon he had a personality of his own.  When he finally buys his freedom, Andrew becomes obsessed with the idea of becoming human, and comes about as close to a human as a robot could.  I liked this movie, but wasnt too crazy about it. I expected it to be hilarious, with Robin Williams as the main character, but most of his performance is merely robotic.  He does get to shine in with a laugh now and then, but the movie didnt pay off in my opinion. Plus, it just seemed like it would never end, as they draw the plot out way too long. So, I give Bicentennial Man a 6 out of 10.

 

 

Jeanne-Claire White

I have to admit that I liked watching Bicentennial Man. This film was very interesting and a little sad. Robin Williams is playing a robot, Andrew, who is striving to become a human. He even goes as far as to have a heart and other organs put into him. However, in the end, he dies before he knows if he can ever be accepted by society. Overall, I enjoyed the plotline, but it could have been a bit shorter. At first, the robots were displayed as human-sized silver robots whose movements were slightly choppy. But, as the movie progressed, Andrew began to look more lifelike until it reached the point that he looked absolutely human. I cannot remember if there were many special effects, but the quality of the graphics for the robots was great. This movie made me think more about the effects of robots on society and the role that they play in our lives.

 

 

Mike Wittmer

The Bicentennial Man is a touching story of the life journey of a robot. However, this robot is unique. He has human emotions, which evolve and grow as the movie progresses. It is hard for him to accept the fact that he is a robot, because with his uniqueness he grows attached to his human companions. These companions don't live forever, and so the robot, Andrew, must cope as his friends and loved ones grow old and die. Stricken with grief he sets on a journey to find out who he is and if there are others like him. He finds a man that helps him to adapt his robot body to look human. Will he ever achieve his goal, to enter the human race?