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Quint thinks I, ROBOT's got a few loose gears! Hopefully it's still under warranty!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with my opinion of the next big summer extravaganza, I, ROBOT. Where to begin, where to begin...
I had been giving this movie the benefit of the doubt for a while. "I trust Proyas" was my mantra whenever someone brought up how shitty they thought the movie was going to be. I figured since I wasn't very well versed in Asimov's writing that whether or not it was a good adaptation wouldn't even come into play with my enjoyment of the film. I liked the last couple of trailers... the tone was moody, the effects looked pretty spectacular and the action looked top notch. In particular I loved that slow-mo bit of Chi McBride blowing away those two robots with the shotgun.
So, no matter what I knew I had Alex (DARK CITY) Proyas behind the camera and could at least count on a good looking popcorn action flick, right? Unfortunately, the film couldn't decide what it wanted to be... Moody, intimate smart sci-fi or hollow blockbuster action with pretty CG effects, so the viewer is robbed of either.
Will Smith, who I was actually rooting for being a success in the film, turns out to be terribly miscast... Well, maybe not. The character is tailored to Smith's MiB personality, which totally does not fit with the rest of the film. I'd be willing to bet that when Smith signed on a lot of the Will Smith-isms were added into the film, without much regard to keeping the tone of the film intact. I mean, near the beginning of the movie Smith's character, a cop named Spooner, is standing over the dead body of someone who he claims to have been close with and is throwing out wisecracks left and right.
I like Smith's charisma, but what this character sorely needed was for an actor to take the role seriously and really sell the mixed love and hate he feels for robots. Imagine if in BLADE RUNNER, Harrison Ford played Deckard like he played the pilot in SIX DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS. The character of Spooner had some really interesting internal conflicts and reasoning behind his hatred for robots and if the movie had taken itself more than half-seriously then it could have been a great, smart sci-fi modern classic.
But before it could have taken that mantel, it must also have been rewritten. Every set up is overplayed, every plot turn is obvious from a mile away... In short, everything is expected and telegraphed so the dumbest person in the audience will feel in on the gag before it happens. The main story is there, but any subtlety in character, structure or plot is out the window. I wondered why until the final credits rolled and big and bright on the silver screen came the name Akiva Goldsman. Yes, the genius behind BATMAN & ROBIN and LOST IN SPACE. It made sense. I might have actually been more impressed if I knew he wrote it beforehand because while it's broad and homogenized it's far from painful.
I wish I could say that while the film has all those faults, at least Proyas was always on the top of his game. I wish I could, but I can't. He's on the mark most of the time, but working off a script with terrible pacing issues (all the big action, minus the "Get off my car!!!" bit, is in the last 15 minutes of the movie) left its mark. The style of the film is good, but constantly nullified by having Smith shoot of a bad wisecrack or Bridget Moynahan giving a terrible, wordy and clichéd performance. And there are some awkward fast moving/revolving camera shots, especially during the climax of the film, that would give Uwe Boll a hard-on. Out of place, confusing and just plain overkill.
The robots are cool, both the new and older models. They did a good job of designing the C4s... who look sad and totally non-threatening, while the C5s are creepily human. The effects are well done on the robots (not so much on the futuristic city of Chicago, which looked very 2-D to me), especially on Sonny ("I did not murder him!!!!")... By the way, that robot is voiced by Steve the fuckin' Pirate from DODGEBALL! Who woulda known? But while the robots look cool and all the Sonny trying to understand and deal with his human emotions is well done... It's nothing new. We've seen that struggle in damn near every recent movie with an android or robot in it.
There are some decent laughs in the film, some good action scenes (not nearly the amount promised in the trailers, though) and although Smith is terribly miscast he does exude that Fresh Prince charm of his. Although, he did that in WILD WILD WEST, too, and that didn't make that turd any more likable. The supporting cast is wasted. Chi McBride plays damn near the same character he did in UNDERCOVER BROTHER, which was a spoof of character like the one he's playing in I, ROBOT. I believe that there's a great action role in McBride's future. He's got the attitude and he does look badass wielding a shotgun in slow motion. Shia LaBeouf is a pointless character that is in the movie for 40 seconds at the very beginning and 80 seconds near the very end, but at least he has one good line at the end, the only line in the film to make me laugh.
From someone who knows next to nothing about Asimov's writing... from a viewer who was hoping for an entertaining ride with some thrills and great eye-candy... Count me disappointed. The movie could have been something us robot geeks creamed our jeans over, but instead it's a rather dull film with a few entertaining spots.
That's it from me, squirts! I'm busy preparing for Comic-Con and I've already lined up some juicy exclusive interviews and have my schedule all worked out. Look for some really cool stuff from my coverage this year! 'Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
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Will Smith is a smug,irritating prick.This had the potential to be superb sci-fi......sigh.By the way,am I the only one who thinks the effects look crap?
First too!YAWN! -
Asimov is rolling in his grave.
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Nothing personally Quint but we always seem to have polarizing views on movies.
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The Academy does NOT!!!! make mistakes!
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Someone mentioned on Alex Proyas's official site, that Fox took the film away from him and the final cut that's coming out, is theirs and definitely isn't the cut or version he wanted, so I'd say don't blast Proyas for what you don't like.
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that Alan Tudyk was the voice of the robot. Guess that makes me a Firefly fan. Still not going to see this, even though Chi McBride does look badass.
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Should've picked Hulk Hogan instead of Will Smith.
"GET OFF MY CAR, BROTHER!!" -
...what Stephen King was to LAWNMOWER MAN.
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If will smith wasnt the lead.
I saw a screening tonight and the film just isnt as good as it could be.
The kid from HOLES *shia lebeau* leading the revolution at the end was lame.
He was your stereotypical sidekick with 2 scenes in the entire movie.His character does nothing but make the film worse.
The fresh prince plays himself again and what would have made this film better is a different lead,someone like guy pierce.
Anyways,what movie was i talking about? -
Jul 14, 2004 3:39:13 AM CDT
Is this another "AICN Premiere Exclusive' that passes for sneak
by cash bailey
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You mean all those robot geeks that haven't read any Asimov?
Count yourself not as robot geek, Quint, but as robot gimp.
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How in the hell can anyone claim to be a robot geek and not have read the books that have defined what it is to be a robot in sci-fi, a good robot anyway! "Us robot geeks" wouldn't have Bishop in Aliens if not for Asimov, Commander Data started off as an Asimovian robot and had a Positronic Brain which was an Asimov creation. Asimov hated the very idea of killer robots and his stories changed his generation of writers and made them think before they went and wrote another killer robot story after killer robot story. Isaac Asimov HATED killer robot stories. This whole concept is a tragedy and pisses me off royal. You LOTR fanatics should be grateful PJ at least tried to maintain the integrity of LOTR, Asimov's robot stories are easily as important works of fiction as LOTR, if not more so, and Hollywood has ass raped these legendary works of fiction and might as well have dug Isaac up and pissed on his corpse.
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i would like to point out that many of you are just plain jealous of Smith. thats probably the only reason for the continuing comments of 'Smith dragged this movie down', which i think are total horse. I still believe this movie will be very decent. again, it will be much better than spiderman 2. i don't trust a single review on this website.
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how do we know that they *didn't* dug Isaac up and piss on his corpse. Someone should go check.
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1. Will Smith rehashing his MiB character (ALI notwithstanding, do you think his ego could handle doing anything different?)
2. Akiva Goldsman (need I say more?)
You know, I really want to believe this is going to be a good movie, except...I can't. The problem with sci-fi nowadays is any sci-fi concept fit for the larger screen (with the possible exception of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" ...please please please, I'm desperate to know if anything else exists, so for the love of God, someone tell me) degenerates into an action flick. I never read Asimov, but as I understand it, he's quite the acclaimed SCI-FI writer, not an action flick demi-god. If I want action, I'll tap some John Woo movies (or was he the bastard behind "Paycheck"? CRAP!) -
Here's one for you: FYATHYRIO
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What the hell is up with all the FALSE ADVERTISING going on in Hollywood lately? "Godzilla" wasn't a Godzilla movie, "Catwoman" has nothing to do with the character from the Batman comics, and now an "I, Robot" movie whose only connection to the book is the Three Laws (which have become kind of a generic staple of robot stories anyways). "Suggested by Isaac Asimov", my ass... I suspect Asimov's only "suggestion" to the filmmakers would be to go jump in the lake. Does this mean I can go out and sell aspirin tablets to people as The Cure For A.I.D.S.?
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the novel 'Caves of Steel' comes to mind. Sadly, the rights were brought by Universal (I think) and Fox brought the rights to I, Robot so that they could tinker it into a rip-off of 'Caves of Steel' before Universal could make their's. I've stated before, you want the true I, Robot movie then buy the only script approved by Asimov that was rejected by Fox for being nothing like 'Star Wars'. It's available on Amazon.
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No matter what he does he plays variations on himself. No wonder he called up Kofi Annan and went "I want to do something. I want to make a difference." A run of shitty movies (MIB2, Wild West, I Robot, Bad Boys 2) will do that to you. I'd be feeling pretty empty if I was him to..
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To the Will Smith ass kisser above, I have nothing against the guy. He was good MiB and I even liked him in ID4 (although I didn't care all that much for the film) as the lead was supposed to be a "Will Smith" type. I'm by no means an Asimov scholar, but could tell from day one that outside of the title and the three laws, this was a totally separate work, but I was hoping it would be a good robot story anyway (plus, the Alan Tudyk tie in was a big bonus). So - the first trailer hits and I write it off, then the Japanese trailer hits and I'm like - hey, maybe this can work after all. But the nail in the coffin was the MTV "sneak" the other night. They showed three scenes, Spooner first meets Sonny, Sonny hides at the robot factory and "Get off of my car". In each, every line is a "Will Smith Wisecrack
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Who the hell ever thought that Will Smith was a good leading man? The guy is about as 1-Dimensional as the funny pages in a newspaper and not nearly as entertaining. If I have to see his wanna-be tough-brotha routine, one more "Aw Hell Naw!", one more lame ass white-joke, I am gonna snap and so sniping the Movie Execs that greenlight this garbage. WILL SMITH sucked back in the day- he SUCKS now, and he WILL ALWAYS SUCK! The big-dumbo-eared bastard should go back to his chessy raps and stay the hell away from fucking up movies.
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So they forced him into this one! Does'nt matter for them if he fits in the movie... Next summer it's gonna be a remake of Alice in Wonderland with Smith as the main character, and summer 2006's gonna have Will Smith as, guess what... Superman!!!
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To see the correct adaptation view the Twilight Zone version. Sorta cheesey by today's standards but the humanity in Azimov's writing comes through.
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Who the hell ever thought that Will Smith was a good leading man? The guy is about as 1-Dimensional as the funny pages in a newspaper and not nearly as entertaining. If I have to see his wanna-be tough-brotha routine, one more "Aw Hell Naw!", one more lame ass white-joke, I am gonna snap and go sniping the Movie Execs that greenlight this garbage. WILL SMITH sucked back in the day- he SUCKS now, and he WILL ALWAYS SUCK! The big-dumbo-eared bastard should go back to his chessy raps and stay the hell away from fucking up movies.
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Did you see the teaser for Batman Begins at the beginning of the movie? Because if you DID, you're a jackass for not telling us about one of the biggest films next year. If not, well...that seems like one of the only reasons why people will head to this movie. I'm still going to see it...but regretfully, I'll HAVE to have an open mind.
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will probably buy a ticket for this movie, wait for the Batman Begins trailer and go sneak into another movie.
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...should STFU, ESAD, FOAD, and LMFS.
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You claim 'Caves of Steel' was a killer robot story? You mean Asimov's first Robot Novel that was about a robot that is teamed with a human police detective who together are investigating the murder of a human BY a human?**roll eyes** Isaac did write one story that had killer robots in it, but in it the robots had been given a severely limited database that incorrectly defined for them what a human was therefore allowing them to follow orders to kill what they mistakenly believed to be fellow robots. This was NOT in 'Caves of Steel'.
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it would have worked best as a "Twilight Zone: The Movie" type movie, with different directors handling the different stories in the book
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Now there complaining that there wasnt enough...
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God only knows how they'll fuck that up.
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I Robot was made as an original Outer Limits episode starring Leonard Nimoy as Judson Ellis (1963), and was redone with the new Outer Limits series starring Leonard Nimoy as Thurman Cutler (1995).
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....nope. Sorry Will, you can have the DVD rental proceeds in a few months though. Waiting for the Village, that's on my radar. I have the feeling this would have been so much better with Morgan Freeman or someone else who can act and bring credibility at the same time.
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Eat Shit and Die? Fuck off and Die, Lick my fucking sack? Am I right?
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...not the Foundation Trilogy, too? Oh, God, the pain. I feel the need to take a Louisville Slugger to my head just to distract myself. Or maybe eat chocolate. Hmmm....
Yeah, this will probably be another abortion. At this rate, some suit will soon say, "Why don't we remake that old film from the '60's? You know, the one with the guys in ape suits and one of them throws this bone in the air and it comes down as this spaceship...." Just wait and see.
Oh, and Harry-- that 2001 animation on the site is just *gross*. I have to shield my eyes. Just an opinion. -
Hey all. I know this is off-topic,but anyone in Huntington Beach, CA on July 27, come meet Troma God Lloyd Kaufman at DVD Planet! He'll be bringing by Toxie and Kabukiman. It should be really cool. Thanks for the time.
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Jul 15, 2004 11:22:33 AM CDT
Can anyone explain the lagalities of Asimov's US Robotics vs the
by eyegore
I know it's off topic but there has to be some kind of story there. Asimov invented US Robotics in his robot stories back in the 50's...then in the 80's some company that makes modems takes the name. I thought they must have big plans for the future but they seem to be dead now. How did Asimov feel about this modem company?...did he sue them? Did they pay him off? Will we ever see a real US Robotics building real robots instead of friggin modems? Can someone please enlighten me because an extensive web search turns up very little info.
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Funny that when a movie does well everyone involved wants to take credit, but when a movie sucks everyone's pointing fingers. Case in point, Proyas directed this, his names on the marquee not a Fox exec. Also, Smith just can't act cause if he could he would do something other than his "No you di-int" schtick. The robots are a total ripoff of Bjork, in a more commercial less-risk taking way. It's not bad, just not original. Goldsman just has a banal track record for sci-fi. The story is very loosely based on an Asimov theme, though nothing like the title. Overall, you can see the word "COMPROMISE" over every aspect of this film. In contrast, Spiderman 2 is a perfect example of an uncompromising story and vision that is truthful to the comics.
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Jul 17, 2004 5:30:52 AM CDT
Blame Hollywood for Smith being the same character, and not him.
by the founder
Smith can do a good preformance, but it the studioes ran by white people(your people geeks)that put every got dam non white into some kind of sterotypical box. The character was of Spooner was probably wriiten as a stright no non sense character who has a genuine hatred for the Robots, but as soon as Smith signed on they altered the character so he can play the same phucking character he does in all his films. What exaclty was the difference between Smith's character in Indepenence Day, Bad Boys, and Wild Wild West?? Absolutly nothing. I like Will Smith, but he growing tiring, i wish he'd stand up to the studio execs, and demand a different role.
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Jul 17, 2004 5:33:17 AM CDT
Oh I forgot about Ali and Six Degrees, where he actually played
by the founder
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Jul 17, 2004 5:34:54 AM CDT
Oh I forgot about Ali and Six Degrees, where he actually played
by the founder
I' Robot had great fx, but sadly FOX turned it into a summer pocorn flick. It was entertaining, but it could have become a classic.
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HI, I would like to say to all the people who talked balk, mostly saying that I, Robot was awful, Have you even SEEN I, Robot. I highly doubt it. FOX did steal the movie away from Proyas, I know that. Proyas's company, Mystery Clock, was not even mentioned at the beginning of the film, even thought almost all of the company had to leave their homes, families and friends in Australia to come work on this movie for two years. They worked their asses off, and all of you people who haven't even seen the film and just are looking for a way to diss will smith, are giving them no consideration for the work they did on the film at all. Also, all those ppl who have a problem with I, Robnot not being like asimovs books.......tough! Thats why at the beginning of the movie, it says "Suggestesd by Isaac Asimovs stories". Oh yeah, I forgot, YOU HAVENT SEEN THE FILM!!!! Asimovs daughter, happened to love the film, and said that it was in the true spirit of the books, and that Isaac would have loved it. Also, Will Smith happens to be an excellent actor, and that would be why he was nominated for an oscar! Listen ppl, see the film and get nominated for an oscar, and go throught what mystery clock had to go through to make I, Robot, and then post your reviews.
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