I, Robot

Though I, Robot isn't nearly as bad as its critical drubbing would suggest, there's no denying that its riff on Isaac Asimov's stories inspires a faint sense of dissatisfaction. Will Smith plays a cop who hates robots the way Captain Kirk hates Klingons; as he lives in 2035 Chicago, he has more than enough opportunities to exercise his prejudices. His bad hunch proves to be correct when a robotics scientist is found dead of an apparent suicide with an unusually independent robot found at the scene, and the ensuing investigation points to an imminent disaster with a new make of robot taking over the world. Once you get over the cop movie clichés and the desecration of Asimov's memory, this is a fairly decent pop adventure opus with a couple of clever action scenes and some nice contributions from the design department. Unfortunately, it floats interesting premises without actually developing them — tantalising bits about the complexities of artificial intelligence (filtered through Asimov's famous laws) are dangled only to be snatched away, lest they confuse the punters expecting two hours of big Willie style. But though it isn't a great meta-robotics movie of the order of Blade Runner or A.I., it has enough stylistic charm to grab you, keep you watching and feel the ghost of the movie that might have been. Extras include a commentary by director Alex Proyas and co-writer Akiva Goldsman (who take great pains to explain just how much they underestimated the audience), a "making of" featurette of some interest to special effects fans and a thorough gallery of sketches and stills. (Fox)