I, Robot (2004)

In the year 2035 a techno-phobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.

Director:

Alex Proyas

Writers:

Jeff Vintar (screenplay), Akiva Goldsman (screenplay),

Stars:

Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Smith	...	Del Spooner
Bridget Moynahan	...	Susan Calvin
Alan Tudyk	...	Sonny
James Cromwell	...	Dr. Alfred Lanning
Bruce Greenwood	...	Lawrence Robertson
Adrian Ricard	...	Granny (as Adrian L. Ricard)
Chi McBride	...	Lt. John Bergin
Jerry Wasserman	...	Baldez
Fiona Hogan	...	V.I.K.I.
Peter Shinkoda	...	Chin
Terry Chen	...	Chin
David Haysom	...	NS4 Robot / NS5 Robot
Scott Heindl	...	NS4 Robot / NS5 Robot
Sharon Wilkins	...	Asthmatic Woman
Craig March	...	Detective

Storyline

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 investigation into the murder of Dr. Alfred Lanning, who works at U.S. Robotics, in which a robot, Sonny , 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, who specializes in the psyches of robots.

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Plot Keywords:

robot | law | suicide | investigation | death | 

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Taglines:

What will you do with yours?

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense stylized action, and some brief partial nudity

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hardwired

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,565,004 (Italy) (22 October 2004)

Gross:

$144,795,350 (USA) (24 December 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Mediastream Vierte Film GmbH & Co. Vermarktungs KG, Davis Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Alphacine)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most of the cars in the movie are modified pre-2004 Audi A2, A6 and TT models. There are even some unmodified cars.

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Goofs

Sonny tries to hide in a perfectly-spaced array of 1,000 robots. Apparently, he can enter random spots in the array without affecting the regular spacing, even though the other robots do not move.

*** However, we do not see the array of robots until after Spooner and Calvin arrive, so it is possible that one or more robots had to move, but this was not shown on screen. ***

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Quotes

[first lines]
Detective Del Spooner: [singing along with Stevie Wonder's "Superstition"] Seven years of bad luck.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits state that the movie was "Suggested by Isaac Asimov's Book".

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Connections

Referenced in Ulli Lommel's Zodiac Killer (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Top Floor, Por Favor"
Written and Performed by Joe Lervold
Courtesy of Marc Ferrari/MasterSource

User Reviews

Simply Amazing

I knew this movie was going to be good before I even went to the theatre, but I didn't know it would be as good as it was. It was pretty intense from beginning to end and I left my seat quite satisfied.

"I, Robot" is set in the year 2035 and is centered around a cop named Del Spooner (Will Smith) who investigates the death of the top scientist at U.S. Robotics. Suspicious, as always, Det. Spooner immediately suspects that a robot has something to do with the crime and as he continues his investigation and delves deeper into USR the truth starts to unfold about what is really going on.

First, I must say that if you are a true fan and follower of Isaac Asimov you probably won't like this movie because you'll be too hung up on the slight, or not-so-slight, differences between the movie and Asimov's original. You should, however, try to take it with a grain of salt and not worry about silly things like that. The basic ideas are still there, they just threw a little "Hollywood" in there. You have to expect that nowadays.

Some people also seems to have an "issue" with Will Smith that I've never been able to figure out. He's witty, charming, funny and looks the part. His acting is great as per usual and his two co-stars Bridget Moynahan (playing Susan Calvin) and Alan Tudyk (playing Sonny, an NS-5 robot) deliver top-notch performances as well. Alan Tudyk especially, did a wonderful job as Sonny. You really feel for him at times.

Considering that this is an action movie at heart, as you would expect, the fight scenes and action sequences are very, very well done. There were a few times that I realized I hadn't breathed in the last two minutes or so because I was too "in" to the movie.

The story was nicely laid out and the ending will not disappoint you. The director (Alex Proyas, Dark City) did an amazing job shooting this film.

The one thing that never left my mind the whole time I was watching the movie was how well each scene was shot and how one scene transitioned into the next.

Overall this movie did not disappoint me in any way. The story, the acting, the directing...all pretty much flawless.

Rating: 10 / 10