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Sci Fi Focus > Encyclopedia > Isaac Asimov > I, Robot
Our Rating: 3 out of 5
In a nutshell:
Movie very loosely inspired by Isaac Asimov's books from the Robot Series (this review is based on the movie).
Note: First of all Isaac Asimov wrote a series of short stories called I, Robot. Then Harlan Ellison wrote a screenplay based on the short stories. Then Hollywood made a film which kept the name, and was inspired by Isaac Asimov's ideas, but bears little resemblence to the events in any of his stories.
Plot Synopsis (may include spoilers):
Robots are commonplace in the future. A cop (played by Will Smith) who dislikes Robots, is called upon to investigate a suspicious death in which a Robot appears to be the prime suspect, and discovers a larger threat to humanity.
Best Bits:
- Special effects
- Action sequences
Worst Bits:
- Combines elements from several Isaac Asimov stories, and somehow comes out weaker for it - and it also just doesn't feel true to his style
- Will Smith's character is unsympathetic as a hero
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I, Robot
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 | Score Released: 2004-07-20 Audio CD Amazon.com: Prolific sci-fi author Isaac Asimov first penned the foundations of what would become one of his most acclaimed books in the 1940s, eventually adapting I, Robotto screenplay form in the 1970s. It would take Hollywood another three decades to hammer the author's vision into CGI-fueled, would-be summer blockbuster -- yet give composer Marco Beltrami a little over two weeks to compose and record its score after the project's original scorer bowed out. Given such constraints, it's no surprise to find the composer leaning on the same dynamically bi-polar, orchestral/electro-metallic palate that colored his music for Terminator 3 with such broad, sweeping strokes. What passes for melodic motif here (i.e. the main title's brief, descending minor key riff) are largely beside the point; Beltrami never gets the chance to do much other than build suspense via moody atmospherics or underlay the film's copious action with serviceable musical boilerplate. His Hellboy score is a better measure of Marco's true artistic range; this one showcases the shrewd, less-as-more constructs of a craftsman on a tight schedule. --Jerry McCulley List Price: $17.98* Lowest New Price: $7.99* Lowest Used Price: $7.98* *(As of 03:37 Pacific 12 Mar 2010 More Info) Buy It Now |
 | By Harlan Ellison I Books Paperback (288 pages)
Product Description: Until the recent announcement of the Will Smith/Alex Proyas collaboration scheduled for release in 2004, numerous attempts had been made to adapt Isaac Asimov's classic story-cycle, I, Robot, to the motion picture medium. All efforts failed. In 1977, producers approached multiple-award-winning author Harlan Ellison to take a crack at this "impossible" project. He accepted, and produced an astonishing screenplay that Asimov felt would be "The first really adult, complex, worthwhile science fiction movie ever made." That screenplay is presented here in book format, brought to scintillating life by the illustrations of artist Mark Zug. After you read it, then decide: Is this not the greatest science fiction movie never made? |
 | By Isaac Asimov Spectra Released: 2004-06-01 Hardcover (240 pages)
Product Description: The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark. List Price: $24.00* Lowest New Price: $14.30* Lowest Used Price: $5.19* Usually ships in 24 hours* *(As of 03:37 Pacific 12 Mar 2010 More Info) Buy It Now |
 | By Isaac Asimov Spectra Released: 1991-11-01 Mass Market Paperback (304 pages)
Product Description: The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. With this, Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact & science fiction that became Asmiov's trademark. List Price: $7.99* Lowest New Price: $1.25* Lowest Used Price: $0.01* Usually ships in 24 hours* *(As of 03:37 Pacific 12 Mar 2010 More Info) Buy It Now |
 | By Isaac Asimov Turtleback Books: A Division of Sanval School & Library Binding (272 pages; 1) Product Description: The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. With this, Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact & science fiction that became Asmiov's trademark. List Price: $18.40* Lowest New Price: $18.40* Lowest Used Price: $15.99* Usually ships in 6 to 11 days* *(As of 03:37 Pacific 12 Mar 2010 More Info) Buy It Now |
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