So there's this cat named Isaac Asimov who created a series of books about robots and their laws, the three laws of robots that they must live by, so to speak. "I, Robot" is very, very loosely based on Asimov's concept and stories, and, as much as I wanted to, I didn't hate it. As a matter of fact, I had a real blast during the viewing of this very good movie. The first point this had up for it was the fact it was directed Alex Proyas, Proyas is the director of two of my favorite films of the past fifteen years, the first one being the imaginative and beautifully morbid film "Dark City", and one of my favorite films of all time "The Crow" a marvelous ode to the legacy of Brandon Lee, one of my film icons.

Regardless, Proyas is one great underrated director and he puts his skills to work in this wild and fun but still thought-provoking film called "I, Robot". Will Smith plays Dell Spooner, an officer for the now futuristic Chicago who despises robots. The problem with his hatred for them is that they're everywhere now under servitude as tools for humans like a utensil. His friend Alfred Lanning is found dead one night having committed suicide by jumping out a window. Lanning is a respected scientist who basically revolutionized the robots the NS units and his death is dismissed as suicide, but Spooner has other suspicions that perhaps the death was not a suicide but caused by one of Lanning's units.

It's impossible, seeing as the laws of robotics forbid it. The laws being this:  1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.  2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.  3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. But Spooner doesn't buy the fact these robots must obey these laws and insists that laws are meant to be broken. There's a prime suspect in the case, a robot unit named Sonny (Alan Tudyk), Lanning's personal unit who is on the run from the law and denies he took place in Lanning's murder. But with clues being left from Lanning after his death, attempts of death on Spooner, and evidence slowly piling up, perhaps Spooner may not be wrong after all.

Now, judging by the way the trailer gave everything away basically, you may know what this is leading to, but the surprise twist in the end is a surefire indicator that this is an above average film. Now I'll admit I was prepared to bash this movie; I mean at best I expected something decent, but I never expected to have such a good time, and a good time was had my friends. Proyas is such a good director and here he proves it (he already proved it in the aforementioned movies) with his incredible camera angles including the wild views from the eyes of the robots and the great action sequences which kind of twisted and twirled along with the characters which was just a rocking camera trick on part of Proyas.

The robots in the film, the NS5's are robots that slowly resemble humans to a frightening degree, and though they look like mannequins, they're actually pretty threatening. Smith and Moynahan, a scientist who helps Spooner decode the mystery, are good here and I actually gave a squat whether or not their mystery would unfold. Proyas pulls off some very good sequences here including the human-robot war, the chases, the actual robots within themselves who are just visually appealing, and one of the coolest sequences in which Spooner attempts to weed our Sonny from a barrage of NS5's.

The character Sonny truly is a unique character in the movie who serves as the tension catalyst. Played by Alan Tudyk of "Firefly" fame, Sonny becomes one of the highlights of the movie with a genuine likable presence amidst the two leads who, themselves, are a lot of fun to watch. The movie has a lot of appeal and genuine fun scenes and action, along with a thought provoking story about robots and artificial intelligence and its ability to form real intelligence and inhabit human emotions, something that great science fiction writers like Asimov formed. All the while, the fact that Proyas gives brisk and beautiful direction sealed the deal for me with this movie and I was pleasantly surprised by the end result.

It's Will Smith, and robots, It's will smith as a cop, and robots, It's Will Smith popping one-liners, and robots. Did I mention it's Will Smith?! That's the primary advertising campaign for this movie and it's the basis for such a film. It's sad because Smith plays Smith as he always does in every movie. Is he a good actor? Sure, he's good, but who cares when you're playing the same guy over and over? He's the same sly, slick, charming, confident guy who approaches every situation with a cool head. I never once saw him hesitate as a character in one of his movies and it's basically annoying to watch the movie center so squarely on him and his one-liners that are not amusing.

Not even science fiction movies are safe from his tyranny. Such one-liners like "Aw Hail naw!" and "Somehow saying I told you so doesn't do it" were funny back in the day, but now they're basically annoying, and there comes a time when you want to see an actor do more, or not they just fade away, Oscar nomination or not. And he's such a cliché in this movie. I dare you to point a difference between his character here and in "Bad Boys" other than the time difference, I dare you! He scoffs, scowls, goes off the case, and is asked for his badge, all scenes that were just tired movie clichés I've seen a thousand times.

Then there's the story which is dumber than the actual material which could have made for an incredible thought provoking science fiction epic along the lines of "2001". Thus leads to my suspicions of Hollywood's ongoing undermining its audiences intelligence assuming we couldn't handle a thought provoking film. People, thought provoking can be just as entertaining as dumb popcorn entertainment as this. When is Hollywood going to wise up with their inane sensibility. I would love to have seen a faithful adaptation of the original books. But alas, we'll never know what could have emerged had a faithful route been taken.

Will Smith and robots and Will Smith some more and there's also robots. Despite the fact Smith plays Smith as he always does "I, Robot" sure is a lot of fun with excellent direction, great characters, a good story, and a great climax.

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