..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

I, Robot
Directed by Alex Proyas

The specter of an African-American character, played by Will Smith in the 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment release, I, Robot (2225190, $30), acting in a mildly bigoted manner towards robots, who are depicted as soulless interchangeable servants, gives the film an interesting subtext, because even though it is science-fiction, its basic premise could one day very well come true. Smith's character has a reason for disliking robots-though it comes across a little like the Santa Claus story in Gremlins-and he also has a change of heart at the end, but the film's subtle expression of irony about slavery is communicated without being belabored. Otherwise, the 2004 summer blockbuster, inspired from a short story anthology by Isaac Asimov, is a straightforward murder mystery with grand special effects and energetic action sequences. There are a few gaps in the story's logic, but the film is still vastly superior to Minority Report, a movie it otherwise parallels, because it sustains a focus on the entertainment and doesn't get too big for its britches. It also seems indistinguishable from the animated prequel to The Matrix that was part of the Animatrix anthology. Directed by Alex Proyas, Smith is a cop investigating the suicide of a leading robot designer, but while he is digging around, the robots begin acting with apparent independence of thought and will. The mystery sustains the narrative and Smith's wit holds you over from one chase or fight to the next. It is hard to say how repeatable the film's entertainment may be, but it is fully engrossing the first time through, and with a sufficient gap, it will likely be so again.

The letterboxing has an aspect ratio 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The color transfer is excellent and the CGI effects look stable. There is both a 5.1-channel Dolby Digital track and a crisper DTS track. The surround mix is not overly aggressive, but on the whole, the audio track adequately supports the film's thrills. The 115-minute program comes with a basic 13-minute production featurette, a passable collection of publicity stills and production artwork, and a promo for the forthcoming animated feature, Robots, with substantial footage and a lengthy plot summary. The reflections of Proyas and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman are intercut on a commentary track. They tend to talk mostly about the characters and the story, though Proyas does identify a couple of the challenges they were presented with while shooting, not to mention challenges coming from the front office. "At one point or another, every single sequence in this movie, every single action sequence, was doubted and shot down by the studio." On the other hand, while the movie is less mindless that many sci-fi features, it has its questionable moments, and Goldsman doesn't help matters. "I got enamored of this idea, Lake Michigan being a landfill. Now, I know that's really unlikely, but I just thought it was a cool idea."

November 29, 2004

DVD Roundup: This Week's DVD Releases
The Review Vault

- by Douglas Pratt

Douglas Pratt's DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter is published monthly.
For a free sample, call (516)594-9304 or go to his website at www.DVDLaser.com