Uri Klein, Haaretz, voila!
Will Smith in "I, Robot". If it weren't for the visual design it would be a completely negligible cinematic product
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/smithirobot.html
Even when Will Smith portrayed Muhammad Ali in Michael Mann's 2001 film Ali - a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination - the result was diligent but truly uninspired.
He remained Will Smith in "I, Robot" by Alex Proyas. There is nothing new and surprising in his appearance - yet it is hard to imagine the film without him. If another actor had appeared in the film in the role of Dale Spooner, a police officer in the Chicago of 2035 - for example Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck or Denzel Washington - the result would have been very different.
A core of humanity
There is something very human about Will Smith's limitations as an actor. Even when he demonstrates his familiar, nonchalant ease, there is something very vulnerable in his cinematic presence. Mainly in his eyes, in a look that often says he's in a place he doesn't really want to be. He seems distant, closed in his private world, a little lazy even, as if he is not convinced that his work justifies the effort he must invest in it.
This vulnerability works to the advantage of Proyas' film; She provides a kernel of humanity to a film that is a clumsy combination between a rather impressive work in terms of futuristic vision and an extremely sloppy thriller in terms of plot and character design. "I, Robot", whose titles indicate that it was inspired by Isaac Asimov's book, looks like a second-rate science fiction film from the 50s, wrapped in a sophisticated contemporary production.
From Asimov's book, the pair of screenwriters, Jeff Winter and Akiva Goldsman, took the three laws of robotics that guide the reality in the film: first, a robot will not harm a person, and will not allow a person to be harmed due to inaction on their part; Second, a robot will obey every command of a human, unless it contradicts the first law; And thirdly, a robot will take care to maintain its existence and integrity, as long as this does not contradict the first two laws.
However, while Asimov formulated the three laws of robotics in order to design based on them a futuristic vision that examines the possibility of coexistence between humans and robots, the creators of the film "I, Robot" adopt them to put them to the test. As soon as the three laws appear on the screen at the beginning of the film, it is clear that it will not be long before they are broken.
"I, Robot", like many of the films of the period, expresses a basic suspicion of ideology, any ideology, accompanied by paranoia that the major centers of economic power exploit the ideology for their own purposes. As in many films produced in the United States since the 70s, as the film's plot progresses, it becomes clear that the focus of danger lies deeper within the mechanism described in it, and the exposure of that focus becomes the main goal of the film's protagonist. It could have been interesting if the filmmakers had found a plot that would express this anxiety in a concise and effective way; But this is the point where the film fails.
A good old fashioned thriller
Del Spooner (Smith) represents all the individualistic and non-conformist cops ever seen on screen. He is a sort of combination of Dirty Harry and Starsky and Hutch, and he has the same frictions with the establishment as all his predecessors (that is, his commander, who likes and appreciates him, will also have to threaten him and suspend him, and only at the end of the film will he predictably admit his mistake).
At the beginning of the film, it is announced that Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), who formulated the three laws of robotics according to the film, committed suicide by jumping from his office window in the highest skyscraper in Chicago - the headquarters of US Robotics, which is about to distribute a new, sophisticated and upgraded version of domestic robots. Dell is the only one who believes that Ling did not commit suicide but was murdered. It's a bit surprising that no one believes him, since in movies of this type suicide always turns out to be murder, and it's not clear why Dell's superiors are not aware of this fact.
The persistent denial of Dell's version adds a somewhat troublesome layer to the film - we are waiting for them to believe him already - and the relationship that develops between him and Susan (Bridget Monaghan), a senior scientist at the center where Lanning worked, is also troublesome. Too much time passes before Susan agrees to cooperate with Del. The romance that develops between them seems forced, mainly because neither Del nor Susan are unique characters. The film strives to prove that they both had an emotional connection to Lanning's character, and it is this connection that drives their reaction to his death; But it is done so sloppily that the result is completely forced.
"I, Robot", in the version of Alex Proyas and his two screenwriters, is basically a fairly traditional thriller. It's old-fashioned, but there's also something sympathetic about it. The problem is that the plot develops in an extremely confused way, its climaxes are predictable and the resolution is disappointing.
But the main failing of the film is the difficulty of deciding what it is actually trying to say. Does it confirm Del's basic and essential fear of the robots (this is based on a trauma that raises the questions the film deals with at a level of discussion reminiscent of action in a youth movement); Or maybe the film marks the possibility of a new beginning of cooperation between man and robots, which will require the formulation of new robotics laws?
The film prefers to ignore these questions for the sake of a plot solution that seems to be evading all the issues it purports to deal with. There is also hostility towards women in this solution which, if it were not as arbitrary as everything that preceded it, it would be worthy of consideration.
Who am I, what am I?
All these flaws would have made "I, Robot" a negligible cinematic product if not for its visual design. In this dimension of the film there is a degree of vision, and also in the way the character of the other main protagonist is shaped: a robot whose nickname is Sunny. Sunny was Lanning's protégé, who helped him develop feelings and ask himself questions like "Who am I?"
Sunny (whose voice is provided by the actor Alan Tadic) will not be remembered in the history of cinema as one of the most unique robots; This right is still reserved for Robbie, the charming and touching robot in the film "Forbidden Planet" by Fred Wilcox from 1956 (which was inspired by "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare) and also to the two robots in "Star Wars" by George Lucas, who were created in his image. But there is something in his character that is both creepy and moving, which makes him a symbol of alienation and paranoia, stronger than anything expressed in the film around him.
And despite Sunny, in "I, Robot" there is emotion and humanity that seem to want to break out, but are stopped before they reach cinematic realization.
"I am a robot". Director: Alex Proyas; Screenplay: Jeff Winter, Akiva Goldsman inspired by Isaac Asimov; Photography: Simon Duggan; Music: Marco Beltrami; Actors: Will Smith, Bridget Monaghan, James Cromwell, Bruce Greenwood, Alan Tadic, Shia LeBeouf
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~924001890~~~176&SiteName=hayadan
