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I, Robot: A Movie Review that's 3 Laws (and Spoiler) Safe!

A movie review by Rob Carr

Thanks to Eide's Entertainment I got to see I, Robot tonight. As someone who grew up with Isaac Asimov's robot stories, I've come to expect a mystery based on the implications of the 3 Laws of Robotics (or the lack of one or part of one of those laws), the "Frankenstein Complex," and Dr. Susan Calvin. I was afraid that the movie might miss out on this, especially since it's not a direct adaptation of the book, but "inspired" by the Good Doctor Asimov.

The movie met my expectations and more. Will Smith, whom we all know as an overconfident smart@$$ character from such movies as "Independence Day" and the two "Men in Black" movies, played a somewhat less confident and far less wisecracking character. It was a welcome change to see him less confident. Yeah, some of the stunts were a little absurd (am I the only one thinking of Gemini 8 at one point in the movie?) but that's to be expected from this type of movie. Bridget Moynahan was far too young to be the Susan Calvin I remember, but that's also to be expected in this type of movie. James Cromwell (whom you'll all remember from Star Trek: First Contact and Enterprise's "Broken Bow" episode as Dr. Zefram Cochrane) gave a flat performance - but that's actually a complement. I doubt anyone will recognize Wash from "Firefly" as an important robot in the story.

It's customary to comment on how well the CGI was done. I liked it, but then again, I'm not hypercritical on something like that. I did wonder a little bit about center of balance as some of the robots walked, but mostly I didn't think about it at all, which to me is the goal of CGI. I did wonder about children's fingers getting caught in some of the open gaps on the robot's bodies. Real world models would have a bit more covering, one would think. But that's being picky.

I have no memory of the soundtrack music. That in and of itself might say something. I'm a musician, but it just didn't register.

I figured out some clues, missed some others, and was surprised several times in the movie. There were a lot of clues - this isn't one of those mysteries where the answer is pulled out of the writer's a...out of thin air.

I'm not a complete continuity freak, so I can't tell if the movie violated any of Asimov's universe, but from what I can remember, it fits pretty well (if you ignore Dr. Calvin's age) and might even explain a few things.

Given that even some of the geeks in the audience were surprised to find out that there was a book of stories just like the movie, I think the movie will hopefully bring Asimov's stories to a new generation.

I liked "I, Robot. It's worth seeing, especially if you 've already seen Spider-Man 2 at least once. It's a pretty good (though not great) movie.

Having read Slashdot for a while, I know that there are folks out there who will despise this movie because it's not exactly like the book. Others will hate the movie or worship it, and loads of people are going to savage this review. You know what? That's fine with me. I had fun with this movie, had a nice date with my wife, and it didn't cost anything. I even had fun typing up this review. You're allowed to be different and to agree or disagree with me. Heck, that's a big chunk of what makes the world fun. Interestingly, it's even a small point in the movie. I'd say more, but that would be telling."

Colour: Both devices have a metallic silver colour that is typical of portable consumer electronics. Black would have been cooler. The Gameboy is also available in other colours, although I think they don't look as good as the silver. Win goes to Gameboy for choice, although it doesn't matter unless you prefer one of the cheesy colours.
Score: G3 7, SP 8

Construction quality: Although the colour is metallic, neither one is completely metal. The Gameboy Advance SP is made from slightly pliable plastic. It feels strong enough, but is probably susceptible to scratches and bumps. The G3 body is about half metal and half carbon reinforced plastic. It is definitely a piece of quality construction. The lens is a marvel as well. The thing is built like a brick.
Score G3 8, SP 4

Form Factor: The Powershot G3 is box shaped, with a grip protruding from an edge and a cylinder from the centre of one face. It has a twist out LCD display. The Gameboy is box shaped when closed, but opens up in clamshell fashion to expose the LCD. Both feel a bit small to me when being held in the intended manner. That's because I have large hands; most people would probably find both very comfortable. When closed the Gameboy is more compact and very easy to pocket. The G3 is too large for many pockets and difficult to fit in others because the lens cap has a tendency to come off.
Score: G3 7, SP 9

Controls: The small size of the devices doesn't hamper operation of the controls. Both have excellent control layout. The buttons on the G3 are logically laid out so that the important ones are easy to reach when you need them. The buttons on the Gameboy are easily accessible in the heat of the moment. Despite the G3's great menu system for complex controls, the Gameboy has it beat there. Metroid Fusion has an even simpler menu system and very intuitive controls. My only complaint is that the controls on the Gameboy look like cheap plastic, whereas the buttons on the Powershot G3 have an excellent high-quality appearance.
Score: G3 10, SP 9

LCD Display: The part of the device that you will look at the most is the LCD display. The G3 has a smaller display. It has the definite edge in graphical capability. As well as being higher resolution, it performs sub-pixel anti-aliasing, where the Gameboy does not. It also displays more colours.
Score G3 7, SP 6

Replayability: Quality means nothing if you don't want to look at it. The Gameboy has an excellent selection of games available, with more arriving regularly. Metroid Fusion is particularly good, and many others are also noted as being of quality. If you already have a collection of older Gameboy and Gameboy Colour games that you love, they are compatible with the Gameboy Advance SP. In comparison, the photograph of a garbage dumpster stored in my G3 is lacklustre.
Score G3 2, SP 9

Storage: The G3 is compatible with all CF2+ class storage devices, including type 1 and 2 compact flash memory cards and microdrives. These cards are available in capacities of up to four gigabytes. In comparison, the Gameboy uses proprietary cartridges with a 24-bit address bus and a 16-bit data bus for a maximum of 32 megabytes of data.
Score G3 9, SP 6

Totals: G3 50, SP 51
The Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP narrowly beats out the Canon Powershot G3 for the coveted Raymond's Choice Award. Your next portable electronic device should definitely be a Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP.