I, ROBOT REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

I, Robot is probably one of the most underrated sci-fi films. It's full of action and has a compelling narrative. 

The film is set in 2035 (not so distant now) and robots are being commonly used as assistants and workers for their human owners. The only person that doesn't own a robot is technophobe cop, Del Spooner (Will Smith). This is due to a traumatic event he went through that involved a robot. Since then, he now hates all robots. The film follows Spooner as he investigates the death of robot inventor, Dr Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) and he immediately thinks one of the robots, Sonny (Alan Tudyk), is responsible. To help him prove his theory is psychologist, Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan) who specialises in the psyches of robots.

The film has a strong opening by introducing us to the 'Three Laws' that the robots must abide by whilst showing Spooner having a flashback to the traumatic event he went through. We then see Spooner going about his everyday life and, after seeing a robot run off with a woman's handbag, he, understandably, gets the wrong idea and thinks the robot has stolen the bag when it was actually returning it. This shows how isolated Spooner is as he's the only one who is against the idea of robots. We feel sympathy for him as we know what he's been through. 

Will Smith gives a strong performance as the protagonist. His previous two films (the sequels to Men In Black and Bad Boys) had him working alongside another character. In Men In Black, he was partnered up alongside Tommy Lee Jones and in Bad Boys, he was with Martin Lawrence. However, while in I, Robot, he does partner up with Bridget Moynahan, for the majority of the film, he works alone. Fortunately, Smith proves he doesn't need to rely on others to be able to be a great hero. He also uses sarcastic humour which makes us like him even more. By using stop motion animation, Alan Tudyk gives an sympathetic performance as Sonny, who, like Spooner, is isolated as he's the only robot with emotions. Throughout the film, we're never sure if we should trust Sonny. He says he didn't murder Dr Lanning but how do we know he's not lying? 

Like I mentioned earlier, this film is full of action. One of my favourite sequences is when Spooner is driving in his car and he gets attacked by a moving truck full of robots. I watched this scene in awe as I didn't know if he was going to survive and I felt even more sympathetic towards him as the robots seem to be attacking him and no one else. 

It can be difficult for a story about robots to be both filled with action and compelling. However, due to the brilliantly-told narrative and strong performances from every actor involved, I, Robot is undoubtedly one of my favourite science fiction films.

8/10