‘Human beings have dreams. Even dogs have dreams, but not you, you are just a machine’
Oh have we got a surprise for you tonight. Yes that’s right lads and ladies, as the Will Smith classic, I, Robot, is on Film4 tonight.
Directed by Alex Proyas, the 2004 science fiction classic stars Will Smith in the main role of Detective Del Spooner, a Chicago Police detective with a bias against robots.
Set in a futuristic Chicago in the year 2035, I, Robot shows a world in which robots fill public service positions across the world and operate under three laws to keep humans safe.
Detective Spooner exists in this world and is investigating the alleged suicide of U.S. Robotics founder Alfred Lanning who he believes was murdered by a human-like robot.
The film, named after Isaac Asimov’s 1950 short story collection of the same, was an instant success finishing first at the Box Office.
Richard Roeper gave the film a positive review, calling it “a slick, consistently entertaining thrill ride” while Urban Cinefile called it “the meanest, meatiest, coolest, most engaging and exciting science fiction movie in a long time”.
Kim Newman from Empire said: “This summer picture has a brain as well as muscles”, while in the Washington Post review Desson Thomas called it “thrilling fun.”
Several critics, including Jeff Otto from IGN, thought it was a smart action film. Otto said: “I, Robot is the summer’s best action movie so far. It proves that you don’t necessarily need to detach your brain in order to walk into a big budget summer blockbuster.”
I, Robot is on Film4 at 18:50 tonight.
