I Robot

Take a dash of Blade Runner, throw in a little of Minority Report, and set it on 'Will Smith Semi-Serious Mode' and what have you got? I, Robot, a film which is neither as smart nor as exciting as its inspirations, but one that is at least trying all the same. Set in Chicago, 2035, the world has advanced beyond our wildest dreams. Robots have been embraced by society, and their ever advancing form has them doing everything from delivering pizza to selling insurance. It's this abdication of responsibility which homicide cop Del Spooner (Will Smith) despises. At best, a resolutely old fashioned sort (even down to his choice of footwear), and at worst a bigot, Spooner believes that the robots have the potential to cause all kinds of mischief. His prophecy appears to have come true when an old acquaintance of his, and supreme advocate of the robot revolution, Dr Alfred Lanning (Cromwell) is murdered, apparently at the, ahem, control panels of a machine. While the undercurrent of reverse racism that the filmmakers drench the plot in is an initially interesting ploy, it, like the film, soon runs out of ideas. After a bright opening, I, Robot never hits its own stride, content to play out vague ideas from superior films mixed with its own half-baked pub philosophy. Still, the action sequences are handled well - a chase in an underground tunnel is particularly impressive - and Smith maintains a grip on the worst excesses of his character to deliver an effective enough performance. It may be nothing more than a piece of brain candy masquerading as a brooding sci-fi, but you could do worse.