Very disappointed

[kelliem]

khamryn (The daughter unit) and I went to see The Day After Tomorrow today (which sounds odd), and actually we both enjoyed it. It was exactly what we expected (and after she lived in LA for several months she confirmed that people there really WOULD act that stupid in a tornado...) and the SFX are great. We both like disaster movies, so sue us. (Though we did go through the whole movie thinking Sam was Tobey Maguire, only to find it was Jake Gyllenhall-- man they look alike!) But what disappointed me enough to leave me feeling vaguely depressed despite enjoying the feature, was seeing the trailer for I, Robot.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I, Robot and The Caves of Steel are on my personal Desert Island Reading List. When I heard they were making a movie of IR, I was thrilled. When I heard they'd cast Will Smith as Lije Bailey, I thought to myself "Cool! Colorblind casting. WS is good, I can get behind that." So when I realized what the trailer I was watching today was for, I got all excited, only to be almost- instantly disappointed.

The robots look ... wrong. Very CGI. And I could deal with that if it was just the 'background' robots. But they all do. Even the one I suspect is supposed to be R. Daneel. He doesn't look human at all-- and unless my memory is worse than I think it is (something I freely admit is possible), he is supposed to. As I recall, people had trouble telling that he was a robot, at first. These robots look vaguely like two-legged blue and silver ants.

And if that weren't bad enough, they seem to have turned it into an action movie. Lots of guns, screaming, chasing, hordes of robots. Shooting. Things Blowing Up.

It's not I, Robot. Not like that. I, Robot is a murder mystery, not an action flick. Man, I am seriously bummed.

ETA: Just looked at the IMDB-- no wonder it doesn't look like my I, Robot. It's not. Here's what they have to say: Though it shares a name with an Asimov anthology, this film is not actually a direct adaptation of any of the nine stories it contains. Instead it's been adapted from a Jeff Vintar script (called Hardwired) to fit into and borrow elements from Asimov's stories.

Comments

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

That *is* depressing....although, honestly, I was pretty sure they wouldn't do justice to the story, so in a way, I'm glad that this isn't actually Asimov's robotverse.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

No, I suppose they wouldn't... but I'd love to have seen them try. I think they might have gotten close. *sigh*

I don't think they should be allowed to use the title. Grrr.

[destina.livejournal.com]

(and after she lived in LA for several months she confirmed that people there really WOULD act that stupid in a tornado...)

Well, not all of us. Some of us actually grew up in places where we learned to deal with snow, and tornados, and Real Weather (tm). It is kind of entertaining watching native Californians drive on drizzly days, though. You'd think it was the great flood, or something.

On the flip side, Angelinos get kind of a kick out of watching folks originally from parts east of California run around bug-eyed during earthquakes, so I guess it's all a tradeoff. *g*

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

See, I knew I'd get called for tarring all Angelenos with one brush. That's what I get for generalizing. Sorry, didn't mean to insult. I was mostly thinking of the news-people. :)

[ineke.livejournal.com]

I was actually happier to hear that I, Robot was only 'inspired by' Asimov's stories (huh, kind of like Troy was 'inspired by' the Iliad, I guess?), because a direct adaptation of the book has so much more potential to Fuck Things Up while still claiming to be the same story. Caves of Steel was one of the first science-fiction books I ever read -- I remember gobbling down the whole series in about two weeks. Actually, I think Daneel was my first Fictional Crush *g*. You have no idea the relief I feel that he's not going to be portrayed by, oh, Robin Williams, perhaps--

[tinriddick.livejournal.com]

Like Ann Rice ( A. Roqular?)'s 'Exit to Eden' (?) A story involving a man who signs a 2 year contract to live as a 'slave' in a hardcore bondage/fantasy resort. Turned into a comedy starring...rosy o'donnell??? Or Gibson's Johnny Neumonic, hey at least they managed to completely turn the story around so that Maggie somehow became dependent on Johnny and he's the one who saves the day (and her, with no low techs) ...and after all isn't that what gibson intended...and that's why he wrote ...uh...her that...way...? 0.o
Sometimes it doesn't matter if they actually base it on a book...it still seems like all they're doing is stealling a name.

[laurakaye.livejournal.com]

Dude, remember the travesty of Bicentennial Man?? I had NO hope for I, Robot. At all.