September 2025 Movie Review: "I, Robot, a good movie and a look into time" by Alexandra Corvarrubias

          Over the summer, I decided to watch the film I, Robot, directed in 2004 by Alex Proyas. The film was adapted from a collection of science fiction short stories written by Isaac Asimov, an American writer and professor, based on his idea of what life with technology would look like in a futuristic world. The interesting part of Asimov’s pieces (most during the 50s and 60s) is that they are regarded as accurate, for it looks like he seemed to have predicted major technological and social developments. And, although the film is based on his works, it does take many liberties, for it is loosely based on the actual short stories, but it is a gem of a film, taking into account its crude but refreshing humor, the characters, and the replication of concepts, such as the advancement of technology and the dangers of it overtaking the human race, or even the concept of say... emotional robots. That being said, the film does include the Three Laws of Robotics, Asimov’s interesting fictional logic. The three laws being... 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; 2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First law; and 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict the First or Second law. The film takes place in the big city of Chicago in the year 2035, and Del Spooner or detective Spooner (played by the one and only, Will Smith), a hilarious and technology-skeptical character finds himself trying to solve the case of Dr. Alfred Lanning’s murder, who he suspects, is the victim of a killer robot; this lead only being a small fragment of a much more artificial and nefarious scheme. Spooner confronts many challenges throughout the film, while being portrayed as an outsider in a technology reliant and supportive world. Overall, the film was so interesting and even reminded me of the 1982 science fiction film, Bladerunner, which was directed by Ridley Scott and is another film about life with technology in a dystopian future, but in the 2000s.

          Besides giving the reader two amazing and interesting films to watch, I also wanted to share my thoughts on some of the ideas this film, and others like it, have brought to my attention. As the world has and is developing and innovation continues to grow, humanity has always, it seems, begged the question, "How much is too much?" When watching these interesting films, it made me reflect on our world today and how much we rely on technology ourselves (not human like robots that walk around exactly, but instilled technology), something like what the character Del Spooner tries to fight constantly, for he refuses his adaptation to society's change and complete acceptance of a tech-ruled life. More seriously asking, does he (what he represents) have a point? Logically speaking, technological advancements have given us excellent access to many things, such as better and more efficient healthcare systems, the expansion of knowledge, and social connections. This is especially achieved through a controversial tool, artificial intelligence, or AI. I guarantee you that almost everyone reading this article, if not all, has used it. But at what cost? Well, let's look at our educational system or at life in general. It seems that we have adapted to and implemented machines into our everyday routine, so much so that we have seen, if not struggled with, thinking critically, having confidence in our own ideas, or maybe even in our own judgment. Just like the three laws, our intentions are good in theory, and our reliance on technology is intended to be beneficial. However, like the laws, can this also come into conflict? I'll invite you to think about that. In fact, try to critically reflect on how technology has impacted your own life and maybe even your way of thinking or viewing the world (maybe even consider how it has twisted reality in some ways or our expectations of it). How has it helped you? And consider how it has maybe negatively impacted your life.