Hey Palz, I’m back after a loooooong break, [thanks to Lavanya :-)] !! Did you all miss me ? :-)
The Story (no plots revealed) - 4/5 _____________________________________________
The scene is in the near future. Its the year 2035 when the world is using Robots to perform many of the routine chores like picking the garbage, helpers in the house, walking the dogs, etc. [Does the name Issac Asimov mean anything to you ?] The Robots are controlled by the 3 laws of Robotics which make them safe. But there is Will Smith as a cop by the name of Spooner, who does not believe that the Robots are safe. Needless to say, the rest of the people in the film think he is insane as there is no proof of a Robot ever comitting a crime in years.
Yet, Spooner is skeptical about the Robots.... Why ? The company making these Robots is called U.S. Robotics. They plan to put a Robot in every household. On the eve of the big day, a Scientist who invented the Robots and the 3 Laws is found dead in the company after falling many stories down from a sealed Lab. This Scientist leaves a hologram for Spooner to investigate his death, which all others believe to be suicide. The only other thing present inthe Lab were Robots. Was the scientist really murdered by the ’safe’ Robot ? The rest of the story unfolds as Spooner tries to solve the mystery of the scientist’s death and other more important ’somethings’ :-)) [ROTFL, Is nikkamma reading this !! lol lol lol]
The cast
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Will Smith .... Del Spooner
Bridget Moynahan .... Susan Calvin
Alan Tudyk .... Sonny
James Cromwell .... Dr. Alfred Lanning
Bruce Greenwood .... Lawrence Robertson
Adrian Ricard .... Granny (as Adrian L. Ricard)
Chi McBride .... Lt. John Bergin
Jerry Wasserman .... Baldez
Fiona Hogan .... V.I.K.I.
Peter Shinkoda .... Chin
Terry Chen .... Chin
David Haysom .... NS4 Robots
Scott Heindl .... NS5 Robots
Sharon Wilkins .... Woman
Craig March .... Detective
Performances - 4/5
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The performance by Will Smith is very good and he fits in the role of Spooner very aptly. He is well supported by Bridget Moynahan as Dr. Susan Calvin who is another scientist at US Robotics and helps Spooner uncover the mystery ! Thankfully, there is no romantic angle to the film and it remains solely a Sci-Fi movie which is one of the good things about the movie. There are no award-winning performances by anyone in the movie, but at the same time, the script does not warrant any such performance. But the cast do not disappoint the viewer !
Action and SFX - 5/5
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The futuristic setting of the film gives the SFX team a free hand and the results are amazing !! The action in the film is very smooth and does not seem like an unnecessary additive. For people who find the Matrix series an overdose of SFX, this film will be a delight, yet, it satisfies the viewers who are die-hard members of the Matrix-trilogy-cult-club (like moi) !! I liked the fact that the viewer is spared of small nuances such as the techno-explainations of how the advanced cars or the Robots work and what material are they made of !! Who cares as long a they succeed in amazing the viewers, Right ?
The verdict - 4/5
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The movie is very watchable and you MUST SEE this film !!
!! Spike !!