Shooting the Breeze: I, Robot
"Inspired by Isaac Asimov" is the legend in the credits sequence, and many purists may have decided to avoid this film in advance of its release.
It is true that I, Robot has more than a hint of "Hollywood sci-fi action film starring Will Smith" but there is some intelligence in the script than many reviewers give it credit for.
Will Smith pares back his traditional witticisms to a minimum as a technophobic cop in the near future of Chicago investigating the apparent death of a famous robotics professor - Dr Alfred Lanning.
The 'murder' could disrupt the eve of a huge roll-out of a new generation of robots and Will Smith's character has the task of putting his prejudices against robots aside while solving the conundrum of Lanning's death.
Asimov readers may recognise the famous 'Laws of Robotics' quoted in the film, along with a character by the name of Susan Calvin but there is apparently little recognisable from the original short stories that explored the laws first proposed by Asimov:
1. A robot can never harm a human
2. a robot must obey all human orders unless it conflicts with the first law
3. a robot must protect itself unless it conflicts with the first two laws
These three laws are debated in Asimov's texts and the film makes a good stab at bringing the circular and logical nature of the laws to the cinema-going audience.
In essence, the film is mainly a detective thriller with one or two twists alongside a large helping of sci-fi action to help the plot along.
It's nowhere near the Film Noir approach of Blade Runner or even Minority Report but if you liked Paycheck you will probably like I, Robot.
Even the purists could accept the film as an addition to the short story anthologies that make up part of the published works of Isaac Asimov.
