Cheap I, Robot (Widescreen Edition) (2004)

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This is a pretty good movie, and I was excited to see it in 3D as I have been amazed by some other 3D blurays (Thor, Captain America, Avatar).

Despite the fact that this wasn't "made for 3D", I was hopeful that the 3D reworking would yield some pretty cool results. Unfortunately, I didn't really see much 3D that enhanced the film or made it really worth it to buy a new bluray since I had the dvd (and it isn't a "gotta have" film for me I was interested in it for the 3D feature.

If you don't have the film yet, it is a good addition to your collection. If you love this movie and have the dvd, then sure buy it, but if you just like the film and have the dvd, and are looking to expand your 3D film collection for some cool 3D films, you might wanna spend your money on other 3D discs.

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My first reaction as this film began was "Wait! This isn't Asimov." The Asimov I grew up reading was a weaver of ideas, more mind candy than adventure story. But here I found myself in Will Smith's bedroom, and then suddenly catapulted into a wild chase after a purse grabbing robot. A far cry from the delicacy used by Asimov. It took a while for the shock to wear off but eventually the conflict between Smith's gritty performance as Del Spooner and his original inspiration in the reminiscences of Dr. Susan Calvin (played by Bridget Moynahan) wears off and the view settles into a film that is inspired by Asimov, but does not imitate him.

The sooner that happens, the better, because this is an exceptional film in its own right, even if it does proceed with the speed of a video game. Smith creates a wisecracking character with a deep mistrust of robots. He is called in to to investigate what appears to be an impossible killing robots can't kill humans, it's the first law of robotics. But Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) lies dead and the only suspect is 'Sonny' a Series 5 robot with some surprising circuitry (played by Alan Tudyk).

The death is declared a suicide, but Spooner refuses to give in. suddenly the automated world turns on the detective, whose unlikely ally is Dr. Calvin, a robopsychologist responsible for the psyches of masses of robots about to be distributed around the planet. One hair-raising escape after another propels the story along until viewers find themselves at a surprisingly reflective conclusion. Not exactly classical Asimov, but a great story nonetheless.

Will does a good job as Spooner, but he is upstaged by Moynihan's performance. And both are blown away by Tudyk and the animators performance as Sonny. As you watch Sonny develop from being slightly more simpatico than the scenery into a full-blown personality there are countless moments of surprise. Moynihan and Smith do their best, but from the moment Sonny turns to Spooner and says "Thank you... you said someone not something." The film belongs to the robots.

Excellent animation and CGI create a world that is a retro version of the future perhaps exactly what Asimov imagined rather than what we would now. The result is a compelling mix of the outré and the mundane that sticks in the mind just as Sonny's wink does.

This is not just an action film. Threaded through it are the same questions that Asimov raised about the nature of self and intelligence. Robots may never be human, but there are far more than furniture. And if their thought processes are alien, they are more than the sum of their programming. The result is one of the more carefully thought out science fiction films in recent times.

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Amazed to read some others found the 3D conversion suitable on I Robot.

I am using a top of the line blu ray 3D player and a new LG TV and I found I Robot to be a big disappointment and a very bad sign of where 3D (conversion) is headed -studios using the cheaper conversion option and movies having little depth and no pop-out whatsoever.

The funny thing about the I Robot conversion to me was the small on-screen menu that would appear when prompted was the ONLY popout in the whole movie and the sad thing about that is that it immediately and constantly shows you and reminds you of how the movie COULD have been.

I do think the 3D version of I Robot is better than just the bluray experience BUT when you watch other 3D movies like Titanic and Avatar you'll see a day and night difference. At least I sure did.

To all studios: I will be re-thinking future decisions on 3D purchases if this is what you'll be offering us. What I see in I Robot is not worth the $30 pricetag at all. It's an amazing and entertaining technology but you are going to miss your opportunity if this is what you'll be offering us.

Honest reviews on I, Robot (Widescreen Edition) (2004)

I watched this one with my family over the weekend and, quite frankly, had a ball. Yeah, to some extent it's a movie with a message, but mainly it's just plain entertaining. If you try to read too much into it, you'll miss the opportunity for a good old-fashioned sci fi romp.

Fast forward to the year 2035. The monolithic company "U.S. Robotics" has put NS-4 domestic assistant robots into mass production, so much so that they are commonplace "members" of American society. Their artificial intelligence is designed to be as much like humans as possible, but is regulated by the "3 laws" programming that is hardwired into every robot. These laws are: 1. To protect human life above all; 2. To obey human commands except if it would violate law 1; and 3. To protect its own existence unless doing so would violate laws 1 or 2. The laws seem a foolproof way to ensure that the robots would never pose a threat to humanity. But all that changed when the man billed as the father of robotic technology and the 3 laws turns up dead in a very public, and very suspicous, manner, just as the new and improved NS-5 model is about to flood the market. The death is quickly written off by all concerned as a suicide. All except detective Dale Spooner, this is.

Being a good cop and a sharp detective, Spooner (played by Will Smith) in not content that the professor's death was a suicide, and begins investigating with the lead suspect, an NS-5 robot named "Sonny". Sonny's intelligence is so advanced, and his "emotions" so well simulated, that he appears to have something resembling a human soul. Spooner believes that Sonny killed the professor, and sets out to prove it. His (over)zealous approach to the task, coupled with his deep distrust of robots and their manufacturer, quickly lands him in hot water with some powerful people. Some difficult and destructive encounters with the metallic menaces leave him looking like an obsessive paranoiac, and ultimately result in his suspension from the police force.

Spooner continues his chase nonetheless, following a series of clues left by the dead professor, as step by step the mystery begins the unwind. All along the way are some great action sequences, plot twists and one-liners. However, except for Will Smith's character (which is the same as it has been in every film he has done since "Men in Black"), nothing about the story is predictable. When the final shoe drops, most viewers will be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected ending.

All in all, I really enjoyed this movie. It was a wild ride with lots of great sci fi treats and effects. The only downsides were the lack of character development on any signficant level -this is a purely plot-driven movie -and the fact that Will Smith essentially played himself, much as he always does. Still, it's worth seeing. I certainly don't regret the investment of two hours.

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I won't get into a summary of the plot, my opinions on the acting or a comparison to the original movie. All science fiction eventually becomes reality, one just has to read the old Jules Verne novels and most all he predicted has come to pass. Perhaps, with iRobot, Asimov's vision of the future may also come to be reality. Suffice it to say that this film is well done, tense and draws you into a truly popcorn movie. I only review the quality of the Blu Ray disc itself. I do have the Standard Def version as well.

The Standard Def DVD was actually pretty well made; its video and audio were both very good so I do not believe that you will see a night and day difference between the SD DVD and this BluRay.

That said, the BluRay transfer is excellent with no grain or artifacting at all. Granted, you wouldn't expect to see grain in any CGI clip, but there are plenty of scenes that are not wholly CGI and the film retains true skin tones, a very nice contrast and warm color grading. No problems that I can see with the video transfer to Blu Ray which is why I gave it a 5.

The audio transfer is also excellent in lossless DTS HD MA 5.1 and the audio could easily be used for DEMO disc purposes at it utilizes the entire surround system with a great deal of discreet channeling to the rear stage and from front and rear with realistic panning when appropriate. However, as I said for the Standard Def version, its audio was also extremely well edited so the big difference is that this audio, being lossless with a larger bit rate, makes for a more enveloping sound track.

There are extras, a commentary, an alternate ending and CGI renditions of endings as well. If you do not already have a copy of iRobot, despite its age, the film retains sturdy legs and is well worth having in your collection, especially at such an inexpensive cost.

All my movie reviews are of this nature and focus only on the quality of the transfer to BluRay so check them and see if they are of help as well.

Hopefully, this review has been of some help to you in determining your purchase, hope I am on the correct path with a review of the transfer quality as opposed to providing plot summaries.

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