I, Robot Review

It's not a proper summer until Will Smith bounds on to our big screens and with this year's effort there's no doubt the boy's done good. This stylish sci-flick finds Will in Chicago in the year 2035, where androids are an integral part of our everyday life as they clean, walk the dogs and do every little job us lazy humans can't be bothered with. But for some strange reason Smith's detective Del Spooner isn't quite so hot on the cousins of CP30 even though they've been hardwired with only human welfare in mind. So when he's called to investigate a murder of a robot pioneer where an android is the chief but very unlikely suspect, Del's suspicions about the supposedly safe cyborgs increase. And with only the help of Bridget Moynahan's ice-cool robot psychologist, he soon discovers that man's most trusted helpers aren't so harmless after all.

When the title credits say 'suggested,' not even 'inspired' by Isaac Asimov's classic sci-fi stories, you think you know what you're going to get: a big, brawny but not necessarily brainy action pic. And while it's true that "I, Robot" is careful not to plunge too deep into any philosophical issues, "The Crow" director Alex Proyas delivers a genuinely intelligent movie that combines fantastic action, slick CG effects and well-handled detective story to great effect. It may implode into a save-the-girl, kill-the-computer clunky ending but with exhilarating action sequences, an understated but still cocky Will Smith and bagloads of cooler than cool robots, what more could you possibly desire? Great fun.