Just call this movie 'I, Will Smith'

Except for references to laws of robotic nature and one central character, the film version of I, Robot has little to do with the late Isaac Asimov's book of the same name. Certainly the author didn't create a hero as hip as Chicago detective Del Spooner, an oversight greedy filmmakers corrected by shaping the movie around Will Smith.

Asimov wrote nine short stories from artificially intelligent points of view, suggesting that robots might evolve into creatures with emotions, ambitions and somewhat human foibles. Staying faithful to the book would result in a movie such as A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and we know how befuddled moviegoers were by that film, one of Steven Spielberg's lowest grossers.

Playing it safe and not entirely sound, director Alex Proyas turns futurist speculation into present-day populist entertainment. Robots abound in Proyas' movie, always upstaged by the "I" ego of Smith, who gladly hogs the spotlight. It could be annoying except that Smith, for the first time in a long time, isn't merely coasting through summertime escapism.

This is a good performance in a situation in which one isn't expected. He's glib, as usual, yet vulnerable at the proper times, a point made clear when Smith cries about a robotic issue and we aren't compelled to laugh.

Spooner doesn't like robots for reasons that screenwriters Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman conceal for much of the film. For the rest of society, those mechanical helpers are invaluable, taking over many daily jobs (though that leaves many humans unemployed). Spooner's apprehension is worsened by the upcoming mass distribution of a new model that will put a robot in every home.

Spooner's robophobia comes in handy when a friend, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), apparently commits suicide, leaving a cryptic hologram message to the detective. If it wasn't suicide, the chief suspect is Sonny (voice of Alan Tudyk), Lanning's robot assistant. Everyone tells Spooner that's impossible because three laws of robotics hard-wired into every model prevent them from harming humans.

It's fairly easy to see where all this leads. Sonny is initially Spooner's prey, then his ally as the scope of conspiracy widens. Spooner is also aided by robotic analyst Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), the lone character carried over from Asimov's book.

Proyas does a good job of evoking a not-too-futuristic setting. Chicago's buildings are sleeker but not too Jetsons-like, and the nondiverse robots are more credible than films in which creatures come in different shapes simply to be strange.

I, Robot is a solid popcorn flick to satisfy sci-fi aficionados and Smith's considerable fan base, which must have felt deserted when he turned serious in Ali and seriously bad in Wild, Wild West and sequels to Men in Black and Bad Boys. The man imposes raw charisma into a project that could be just another movie machine. Asimov wouldn't recognize I, Robot, but he would probably smile at it.

Grade: B

Director: Alex Proyas

Cast: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Bruce Greenwood, voice of Alan Tudyk

Screenplay: Jeff Vintar, Akiva Goldsman, suggested by Isaac Asimov's novel

Rating: PG-13; intense action violence, profanity, brief partial nudity

Running time: 115 min.

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