# I, Robot: Will not suck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104 "2004-06-24T23:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/81 "2004-07-13T18:45:30Z")
For anyone who’s interested, there’s a longish interview with _I, Robot_ director Alex Proyas [here](http://www.chud.com/news/july04/july13proyas.php3) where he talks about some of the things we’ve been discussing. He seems to have a handle on the Asimov mythos (he references the zeroth law, prompted by the interviewer), at least, which is a good sign. Plus there’s this: > [@](#): > > To me, the thing about Asimov stories that he was so adamant about is that he didn’t want to paint robots as bad things. He didn’t see technology as necessarily being a bad thing. Though there is conflict at the end of the film, it’s about a much bigger idea, how the robots and artificial intelligence assimilate with humanity… …which is another good sign. However, there’s also this: > [@](#): > > **Q: Are you worried about Asimov purists being upset?** > > **Alex:** No not really… :eek: > [@](#): > > …I mean in fact Asimov’s daughter last night was extremely complimentary of the film which I was very pleased at actually. I just feel like to do it service, to do the collection service, you either need to do a big TV mini-series or you need to do a series of movies. Hmmm, not a bad point. The interview also has a horse’s-mouth description of how the _Hardwired_ script ended up morphing into this one. Check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/82 "2004-07-13T21:17:52Z")
**Jurph** , to address your analysis, in the bookDr. Calvin is, indeed, much closer to robots than she is to humans. Of particular interest is her relationship with one Stephen Byerley, the one man to whom she was ever really close… And she suspects that he is, in fact, an elaborate robot (the truth of this point is left deliberately ambiguous). I understand that this was the focus of Ellison’s script, which I really ought to read sometime. When presented with a defective robot, manufactured without any of the hardwired knowledge usually built in (except for the Laws, of course, those are essential), she raises it as a baby, and trains it to call her “Mama”. And she’s quoted as saying that the difference between a robot and a human is that the robot is fundamentally decent. So if she shows more sympathy to the robot than she does to Will Smith, that, at least, is true to the books. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/83 "2004-07-14T17:59:54Z")
Uh, guys, look at who has the screenplay credits. [Jeff Vintar](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0899113/) (who?) and [Akiva Goldman](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326040/). Akiva “_Batman Forever_, _Batman & Robin_, _Lost in Space_” Goldman. Doesn’t look promising. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/84 "2004-07-14T18:17:57Z")
Harry at AICN has posted his review: (looks low on spoilers) > **[I, ROBOT review](http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/17955)** > > Thank God. I, ROBOT was nowhere near the disaster that I was anticipating. Whew. I went into this film with low and conflicted expectations. I'd heard that Jeff Vintar's screenplay was genius, but I'd also heard that Akiva Goldsman... Brian ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/85 "2004-07-14T18:29:44Z")
And Quint’s: > **[Quint thinks I, ROBOT's got a few loose gears! Hopefully it's still under...](http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/17951)** > > Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with my opinion of the next big summer extravaganza, I, ROBOT. Where to begin, where to begin I had been giving this movie the benefit of the doubt for a while. "I trust Proyas" was my mantra whenever someone... (also looks low on spoilers) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/86 "2004-07-14T21:31:03Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Akiva Goldman I wasn’t previously aware of this. Run! Run for your lives! I also note an offhand mention in the reviews linked by **N9IWP** that the studio (and possibly Smith) elbowed Proyas to the side for some or most of post-production. Another bad sign. Grumble, grumble. So near and yet so far… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/87 "2004-07-14T21:52:22Z")
Smith was on Letterman last night and showed another clip in which Smith’s car (a hideous product placement by Audi) is besieged by hundreds of robots pouring out of a USRobotics delivery truck (which is freaking huge). Smith did say his company produced the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/88 "2004-07-14T22:03:48Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Harry at AICN has posted his review: (looks low on spoilers) > [http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=17955](http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=17955) > > Brian I note, with some distain, that according to this review, Will Smith shows his ass in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/89 "2004-07-14T22:24:51Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > I note, with some distain, that according to this review, Will Smith shows his ass in the movie. It gets worse (or better, depending on your POV). He mentioned that he had to get in shape because of the nudity. Supposedly, the European cut will show full frontal (the US version will be edited or modified somehow). ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/90 "2004-07-15T03:57:30Z")
I just thought I saw Michael Jackson on my TV out of the corner of my eye, when I realize that it’s “Susan Calvin” :rolleyes: I should have known better, she was firing a machine gun :smack: This movie is looking worse and worse ☹ Think I might just stay home and read some real sci-fi instead 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Abe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Abe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/91 "2004-07-15T07:18:22Z")
I don’t know why exactly, but the trailers for _I, Robot_ somehow keep reminding me of _The Caves of Steel_, also by Asimov. I guess it must be the detective tracking down a killer motif. Come to think of it, are there any Spacers and off-world colonies in this flick, and is there a humanoid robot who teams up with Will Smith?? I wonder why they didn’t pick _The Caves of Steel_ in the first place – _I, Robot_ may be an iconic brand, but the former would make a far superior movie. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/92 "2004-07-15T20:02:38Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Call me old fashioned, but I like my robots to either be hot, armed and from the future or lurching about screaming DESTROY!! DESTROY!!! _Fish, plankton, sea greens… protein from the sea!_ ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/93 "2004-07-16T00:51:41Z")
James Berardinelli, a generally reliable critic (and an avowed SF geek), has weighed in, and enjoyed it a lot (3-1/2 stars). The website is having problems, so I won’t link directly. Go to [reelviews.net](http://reelviews.net) and scroll down a bit. ---
**Author:** ![RealTronic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RealTronic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTronic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/94 "2004-07-16T01:34:58Z")
Well, the movie is getting mostly positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, check it out here : [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i\_robot/](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_robot/) So, maybe some fears were unfounded! (Me keeping my hopes up…) ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/95 "2004-07-16T04:47:47Z")
I don’t normally watch movies until they get to the cheap bin at the rental places. The last movie I went to the theatre to see was… **The Tigger Movie** at a dollar theatre, and during the summer, so I was looking for A/C at least as much as a movie. The reason I bring this up is that I just got spammed by 20th Century Fox re: their release of I, Robot this coming weekend. When I went to tell 'em to take me off their lists, I found that first I’d have to finish registering wth them?!?!?! to do that. I’m wondering how many other people who thought they were safe from 20th Century Fox also got spammed for this movie after discussing it here? Please note: Mods, I’m not making any accusations. And even at my most suspicious I doubt that anyone officially involved with the site, or Chicago Reader had anything to do with this. I’m just curious, since the only place my interest in Asimov has been shown on the web in the past year was here, if this discussion might be where the studio got my email… ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/96 "2004-07-16T20:39:22Z")
[_SIGH_](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/07/16/DDGKD7LH2H1.DTL) [QUOTE] \Unfortunately, the screenplay, which is only loosely based on Isaac Asimov’s “I, Robot” stories, gradually reveals itself as trivial in comparison – not bad, not ridiculous, just small in spirit and lacking in importance. \Greenwood, a good actor, is underutilized, and Bridget Moynahan, as the robot psychiatrist who comes to share Spooner’s suspicions, underplays her role. If she and Proyas decided that the character should be withdrawn and hesitant, it was an unadventurous choice. In the last third, the picture becomes an action frenzy and loses the human element, though it maintains interest. A particularly interesting moment comes when we hear the spokesman for the evil force explain its actions: Lives must be lost and some freedom sacrificed to maintain safety, we’re told. Obviously, someone is trying to make a point with this, but it’s not clear enough to register. [QUOTE] So…yes, the zero’th law. And the robots are an “evil force.” :rolleyes: I hate it when you guys are right… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/97 "2004-07-16T20:42:24Z")
Not to mention when I flippin forget how to code… ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/98 "2004-07-16T20:49:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And it should be noted that the Zeroth Law does not show up until many novels and many centuries after _I, Robot_. And R. Daneel had to reprogram himself to define, and then accept this law. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/99 "2004-07-16T20:55:11Z")
> [@Sean Factotum](#): > > And R. Daneel had to reprogram himself to define, and then accept this law. Don’t forget he had to change heads a few times, too . ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104/100 "2004-07-16T20:55:55Z")
[http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-robot16f.html](http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-robot16f.html) > [@](#): > > According to the invaluable Wikipedia encyclopedia on the Web, Harlan Ellison and Asimov collaborated in the 1970s on an “I, Robot” screenplay, which, the good doctor said, would produce “the first really adult, complex, worthwhile science fiction movie ever made.” > > While that does not speak highly for “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), it is certain that the screenplay for this film, by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman, is not adult, complex or worthwhile, although it is indeed science fiction. Ow. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-will-not-suck/252104.md?page=6)