The Travesty That Is "I, Robot"

POSTED BY: MohrStoutbeard
UPDATED: Friday, January 14, 2005 01:24
VIEWED: 6833
PAGE 2 of 2

PREV PAGE 1 2

TIGER

Sunday, January 2, 2005 10:02 PM

I had the misfortune of seeing "I, Robot" last night, coincidentally, only a week after reading the original stories (again).

What a disaster. The movie is not like the book at all (but you can tell that from from the trailer), and neither is it in ANY WAY a good movie on it's own.

Why doesn't he use a shower curtain? Doesn't that make a mess of his bathroom? Why does he chase a robot just because it's carrying a purse? Does he tackle people running with purses? Why, oh why didn't the dead doctor simply TELL SPOONER ABOUT THE ROBOTS EVOLVING in his suicide message instead of leaving incomprehensible clues?

And I have to disagree with CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG. Just becasue they say it was "inspired by" the book and not "based on" the book doesn't mean it isn't a blatant ripoff of material used for a creative abortion of a movie. The first thing on screen are Asimov's Three Laws, for god's sake.

I didn't know there was a screenplay out there by Harlan Ellison, so now I'm even more pissed that this movies exists.

Where'd you get it? I'd really like to see it.

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Sunday, January 2, 2005 10:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MohrStoutbeard:
Um, duh. That was my whole point. The reason I feel so strongly is because the Will Smith film is exactly what Harlan Ellison was referring to when he talked about "work-for-hire afterthought books that capitalize on Issac's name."

Ellison's script was the movie that Asimov wanted to see on the screen. Doesn't that matter at all? Oh, right, he's dead. Who gives a damn what he thought?

I speak here as a huge Ellison and Asimov fan; the film "I, Robot" likely got little, if any, extra box office from using the Asimov name and the allusion to the laws of robotics - I went to see the film Hardwired and thought that, bar the awful product placement that began the film, it was a more intelligent action film than most of what usually passes for a summer blockbuster.

As Ellison himself states, his I, Robot was an amalgam, as of course it had to be - I would love to read the screenplay so I could judge it, but the fact is that the screenplay was written in the late 70s and would not have been used in 2004 to make a film. Do I wish it had been made at the time? Yes.

Plus, look at this way; if as a result of this film, even a few new people find Asimov, that's a plus. Also, because of Target, more people than ever may be seeing the name Harlan Ellison, and that may introduce them to his works.

"I threw up on your bed"

ECGORDON

Sunday, January 2, 2005 11:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Tiger:
I didn't know there was a screenplay out there by Harlan Ellison, so now I'm even more pissed that this movie exists.

Where'd you get it? I'd really like to see it.

I got my copy many years ago from the Science Fiction Book Club but they no longer offer it. It has been recently reprinted and is available from amazon. There's a link to it on my review page for the book - http://templetongate.tripod.com/robotfilm.htm - or I'm sure you can get it from barnes and noble or whatever other online or brick-and-mortar book store you frequent. A search at ebay should also yield some results. Hope you find it, cause it is worth it.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

ZEEK

Tuesday, January 4, 2005 7:52 PM

I think the movie actually hurt the chances of people finding Asimov's works. I just saw the movie last week and thought it was horrible. The dialogue was just terrible and the action squences were pure cheese. At the end I said, "well now I know better than to waste my time reading that book". I doubt I'll change my mind either.

I've read one of Asimov's books before too. He's good but still a bit drawn out for my taste.

LINDLEY

Tuesday, January 4, 2005 8:12 PM

I saw I, Robot in theaters.

Of course it isn't like the book. The book is a collection of short stories----you'd never see a movie based on such a collection.

That said, it was a decent action film, and not entirely inconsistent with Asimov's universe. It's not something I'm likely to go see again, but as a one-off, I enjoyed it.

Alan was great as Sonny, by the way.

Best theory I've heard regarding fitting this into Asimov's universe, is that the events of the movie triggered the Earther/Spacer philosophical divide with regards to Rs.

In regards to what Asimov I've read: All 7 original Foundation books, the two Bailey/Daneel books, and I, Robot itself. I haven't yet found time for the later Robot or Empire novels.

CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG

Tuesday, January 4, 2005 8:16 PM

I'm not saying it wasn't using Asimov's ideas, I'm saying it never said it was the movie of the book.
You can't complain (well I suppose you can, but it seems odd) that it wasn't the same as the book when it never purported to be the plots from the book. You even concede that it was never put over as a direct translation, as the trailer never puts it over in that light. Would you complain if two rock albums had the same title and weren't the same songs?

The stuff you're complaining about seems strange too. Are you seriously saying one of the reasons you didn't like the movie was the fact that he doesn't use a shower curtain?? I mean seriously, that's not a reason to hate a movie.

Why does he chase the robot running with a purse.
He hates robots, he wants robots to be commiting crimes, it's how he thinks. It's the same as a racist cop chasing a black man down the street when he's running with a purse.

Does he tackle people running with purses? Probably if he was convinced they were stealing, yeah he would.

Why, oh why didn't the dead doctor simply TELL SPOONER ABOUT THE ROBOTS EVOLVING in his suicide message instead of leaving incomprehensible clues?
Um, the reason was the whole plot of the film, I can't see why you had a problem following it.

I'm not saying I, Robot was an amazing movie, it had far too many faults to be anything but a fun popcorn flick, but when a movie never intends to be more than a popcorn flick, when it is advertised as nothing more than a popcorn flick, why do people complain when it's not a popcorn flick?

check out my WIP firefly roleplay system at www.estador.co.uk/firefly

BOOKSWORD

Wednesday, January 5, 2005 7:11 PM

Okay, I will admit.

I love Issac Assimovs work. Eversince I was a kid, when I first heard that Will ' big Willy styles' Smith was making I Robot.

Well I was less then happy.

Right royally pissed does come to mind.

Then I saw the film.

Honestly, I enjoyed it. Even considered getting the DVD to own.

Cold hard truth people is that without Will Smith it would have been a long time coming for an actual film.

Flaws.

Yup.

But surprisingly instead of a Men in black vs Hostile Robots we get a pretty decent story about humanity, conspiricys, greed and mostly about what consists a soul.

True, no real surprises who the bad guy is but the reasoning is pretty sound. Just doing what you made me to do.

Also Smith gave a decent performance of a man on the edge, instead of cocky know it all. However the psychoanylyst had me worried. I thought that the big secret was that she was a robot cause she acted like it.

In the end it had a decent mix of thrill, sci-fi and characters to make it pleasing.

Perfect, no. But a decent homage and thats a lot better considering how truly terrible it could have been.

(( Wild wild West ))

TRAGICSTORY

Wednesday, January 5, 2005 7:39 PM

I have to chime in and say that I liked I, Robot. Of course I could also put the title out of my mind when I watched it.

I would have been much more upset had they taken the book and tried to sleek the short stories into a movie.

As for making a buck on Issac, someone had to have sold them the rights to use his name and book.

Besides if you want terrible book to films, just think how pissed Willam Shakespeare would be if he found the crap that his name was tagged to.

-----------
"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

AX

Friday, January 14, 2005 12:27 AM

I'm going to start this by saying that I feel really sorry for Ellison. This is clearly something that means a great deal to him, and for good reason. In a way, his story is heartbreaking and a perfect example of the problems I have with Hollywood. To those saying that "I,Robot" was just a popcorn flick, I would argue that "I, Robot" was never meant to be a "popcorn" action flick.

That said, what did I think of the movie. Well, suprisingly, I liked it. Yeah it changed a lot, and I feel even more sorry for what was done to the character of Calvin after reading what she meant to Assimov. But at the same time there's this sequence in the middle of the film where Calvin is about to 'kill' the robot. This sequence asks great questions about what it means to have a soul, and what it means to be a robot. It's one of those scenes that is always stuck someplace in my head, even long after I've forgotten the rest of the movie it's there. It's an intellegen scene, and the driving force behind it feels like Assimov. For just this scene I forgive a lot of the movies shortfalls.

"Time keeps moving on. Every beat of her heart tells me that. Every beat of her heart takes me away from this moment. I love each beat, but I dread it in the deepest of my soul. Because nothing is forever, and her heart is telling me that."

SNIPER

Friday, January 14, 2005 1:24 AM

Personally, I really enjoyed I, Robot, which surprised the hell out of me. The visuals were stunning and the story had some intelligence to it. However, I think that they should have named it something else. It's not like I, Robot in many ways, although there are some scenes that are like some stories, but not many. Hardwired probably would have been a good title for it.

It is a shame that they didn't use the original screenplay. Maybe someday.

PREV PAGE 1 2