I, Robot is an intelligent thriller, clearly drawing much from its source material. Having not read the original Asimov texts, I can’t comment on how well this book to film transfer has been done. Stuart commented afterwards that the book must have been a lot deeper still, but we were both satisfied greatly by this very enjoyable film. Some of the plot points have to have come from a novel, they are beyond the capabilities of the average screenwriter to even fathom, let alone imagine.
Moynahan doesn’t have quite the same presence, which is a little disappointing after her role in The Recruit, in which she was excellent. She really has a very limited role in I, Robot however, in spite of her large amount of screen time, so it’s a bit harsh to judge her. Cromwell and Greenwood are both good actors, but play small turns only. The real star is the robot, played by Alan Tudyk. Following on from Gollum in The Lord of The Rings series, Tudyk gives a real personality to the CGI Sonny.
I, Robot is very enjoyable, and has a quiet depth and subtlety only dreamt of in other action films. Themes of racism and technophobia are explored, and the question of what makes someone human is an important one. Can a robot become human? What are the qualities in the human mind or soul that differentiate us from other species? (The river sequence is extremely important here.) I, Robot touches on all of this, and yet still remains an exciting action film. This is the strength of science-fiction that some people just don’t get.
I hope you do…