Click here to go back to main movie index
I, Robot
Studio executives summary / pitch
Isaac Asimov based tale of a robot who apparently murders... but, hey, that's not possible, right...?
Short plot summary

Will Smith plays Del Spooner, a cop, who hates robots. He is called to investigate an apparent murder committed by a robot... but, as everybody knows, Robot's can't do murders so Spooner is obviously a troublesome outsider right...

The Asimov 3 Laws of Robots

Law 1: A Robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Law 2: A Robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first Law.

Law 3: A Robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second Law.

What our panel of critics thought

"No No No NO NO! Robots with look more like human beings than this. Look at that waist and bottom area! Well, I suppose if you have a small bottom fetish then it's all fine and dandy, but if not where are the sexy possibilities here? Hmmm? No, they haven't thought about that have they? Why does nobody ask me about this sort of thing?"

"When is Will Smith going to play a heartless scheming manipulative bastard? I am simply fed up with the nice cool dude guy stereotype he always plays. When they do a remake of Nightmare on Elm Street I want to see him play Freddy."

"OK so if Audi go broke in the next 30 years I'll want my money back..."

"So, the NS4 robots are being replaced by NS5's...? There is a terrifyingly Microsoft-ish dark dimension to this idea... Of course if Microsoft do come up with a robot like this one day, I feel sure it will be based completely on the mannerisms of Bill Gates. Just imagine it. A million Bill Gate's walking around the world... Argh!"

Please tell me the ending or whole plot if necessary

The NS5 robots intend to take over the world via the method of revolution. They are stopped, single handedly it seems, by Spooner (Will Smith).

Sonny, the robot with real emotions (all the other robots only have simulated emotions) who was set-up for the murder of Dr Lanning at the start of the movie, did not commit the murder. The murder was committed by V.I.K.I. a super computer with a digital face...

I particularly enjoyed watching Will Smith's pecs and ab definition in Ali, tell me: Can I expect to see his muscles sweat so wonderfully in this movie?

There are a couple of brief moments of upper-body nudity, and one moment of in-shower naked splashiness. Luckily for those interested in gawping at his chest, he sleeps in boxers and not in woolly teddy bear style all over the body pyjamas.

Physically, Smith is nicely solid, with a hint of cyborg about him too for good measure...

How much street cred oozes out of Will Smith's pores in this movie?

It appears that they brought in a writer near the end of pre production to Will Smith-ise his role. He's the cool dude with the killer'tude as always... oh and he's got a robot strength arm too...

How much would you pay for a copy of this movie in goods?

A Will Smith skin-tight hat and matching in-ear phone set.

I have a rare condition which means that I am unable to see CGI in the same way as normal human beings. Will I enjoy this movie, or will I have to sit through endless amounts of green screen?

Do not try to watch this movie.

Other comments

A technically impressive movie but all-in-all a disappointingly superficial effort. Compares unfavourably to Blade Runner which it has many similarities to.

Date of review

April 13, 2005

Search This Site (Google) Please send a link to our movie main page to tell a friend about us by clicking here. Got a comment? We will print your best suggestions. Please send your e-mail to editor@theVoiceofReason.com