Flaws aside, I, Robot too much fun to completely dismiss

Thursday, July 22, 2004

There are plenty of reasons not to like I, Robot. The new Will Smith film has some pretty hokey moments, and a lot of the humor falls flat. But somehow this futuristic thriller won me over despite its shortcomings. While its certainly not one of the best films Ive seen this year, its entertaining enough to mildly recommend.

Smith plays Del Spooner, a Chicago cop in the year 2035 who has developed a contempt for societys acceptance of robots as part of everyday life.

Spooners suspicions are furthered during the investigation of an apparent suicide by a prominent scientist (James Cromwell) who was responsible for the robotics boom.

Spooner suspects a robot named Sonny is actually responsible, even though it would mean the robot violated laws put in place to keep the machines in line.

The deeper Spooner gets into the investigation, the more he uncovers about a threat to humanity larger than a single rogue robot.

Smith makes I, Robot easy to take. Its not a groundbreaking role, but its one the actor is more than capable of handling.

There are some familiar faces in supporting roles, including Bridget Moynahan as a female scientist who helps Spooner with his investigation, but no one really stands out. Bruce Greenwood is a little too smarmy as the head of the robotics corporation, while Chi McBride plays the police chief for what seems like the umpteenth time.

The screenplay from Jeff Vintar tries to implement some social commentary about prejudices, but it feels forced.

The story is at its best when Sonny is the focus. There is an interesting arc to the robots character that kept me interested and helped set up a decent finale, well staged by director Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City).

In fact, its probably to Proyas credit that I, Robot does work. The film moves along at such a breezy pace you dont really have time to think about the films shortcomings. Its only afterward that the craters in the plot start to come into focus, but by that point I, Robot had already sucked me in.

The result is more guilty pleasure than must-see cinema.

Dollar dandy of the week (sort of)

When I originally reviewed Troy (C) back in May, I gave it a negative review.

I stand by my original review, but the film earns dollar dandy honors this week by virtue of being the best film released in discount houses in the last three weeks.

Troy follows the siege of Troy by the united Greek forces through the eyes of several key components of the war. The movie opens with Paris (Orlando Bloom) stealing Helen (Diane Kruger) from her husband Menelaus, much to the dismay of Paris brother, Hector (Eric Bana).

Helens departure is the spark to convince Menelaus to join forces with his blood-thirsty brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox) and wage war on Troy. While Hector leads the Trojan soldiers, Agamemnon looks to his gun-for-hire Achilles (Brad Pitt) to help lead the Greeks to victory.

The best moments come during the action sequences, but when the action stops, Troy sputters to a halt.

The biggest problem with Troy is Pitt, who plays Achilles more like a rock star than a Greek soldier. Pitts goofy swagger never clicks here, leaving audiences with a film that has good intentions, but is nothing more than another example of epic overkill.

If you must see a film this weekend, you could do a lot worse. But, may I recommend Fahrenheit 9/11?

Troy opens Friday at the Plaza 6, where all movies are $1.

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