Sydney based Proyas may be making a lot of American films these days, but he is living proof that Australia can still produce world class film makers.
Sure, he may have stumbled with what was a very personal tale, Garage Days (2002), but give him a science fiction storyline and he is back in form.
Proyas grabbed the worlds attention with The Crow(1994), and followed that up with the hugely underrated Dark City(1998), but even before these films he had created a unique view of outback Australia in Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds(1989).
So after the disappointing Garage Days, America took a risk on Proyas with i, Robot, and it was a good thing that they did. Inspired by the Isaac Asimov book of the same name, the movie is based on an original story, (because when the film began it’s life (as Hardware) the makers didn’t have the rights to Asimov’s book). As to how well the story fits into Asimov’s style, well you have to accept that this is a big budget, big star vehicle, so tightly logical mysteries had to make way for a couple of chase scenes.
At the end of the day this is an enjoyable film, with a few actual thought provoking ideas, unlike other spectacle movies of it’s ilk.
The picture and sound quality on this DVD are pretty much faultless, as you would expect of a film of this age and budget.
Making the two disc DVD release a special edition are the commentaries, the making of’s (the robots aren’t real), but I found the most interesting stuff on the not-overly-user-friendly bonus disc to be the documentaries on the folks who are building robots now. True, we have a way to go, but to get an idea of the range and achievements of the field of robotics (unless you are studying it), these interviews and history are really interesting.
With the success of this film, I’m eager to see what Proyas tries his hand at next.
Recommended