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* IWarnedYou: After spending the whole movie trying to convince people that the robots are up to no good, Spooner finally [[spoiler: rescues Calvin from a malfunctioning robot]]
-->'''Spooner:''' Somehow "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.
-->'''Spooner:''' Somehow "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.
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* IsThisWhatAngerFeelsLike: After Spooner pushes Sonny that bit too far during an interrogation.
--> '''Sonny:''' "I DID NOT MURDER HIM!" (slams fists on the table, making the metal buckle)
--> '''Spooner:''' That one's called anger.
* IWarnedYou: After spending the whole movie trying to convince people that the robots are up to no good, Spooner finally [[spoiler: rescues Calvin from a malfunctioning robot]]
-->'''Spooner:''' Somehow "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.
--> '''Sonny:''' "I DID NOT MURDER HIM!" (slams fists on the table, making the metal buckle)
--> '''Spooner:''' That one's called anger.
* IWarnedYou: After spending the whole movie trying to convince people that the robots are up to no good, Spooner finally [[spoiler: rescues Calvin from a malfunctioning robot]]
-->'''Spooner:''' Somehow "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.
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Added a secondary note for Blue Eyes, and added I Warned You
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** Quick-eyed Tropers will notice that [[spoiler: when the NS-5 being wiped with Nanites briefly opens its eyes on screen, they are grey]]
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* IWarnedYou: After spending the whole movie trying to convince people that the robots are up to no good, Spooner finally [[spoiler: rescues Calvin from a malfunctioning robot]]
-->'''Spooner:''' Somehow "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.
-->'''Spooner:''' Somehow "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.
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Added some more foreshadowing to Robotic Reveal
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** There is also some {{Foreshadowing}} right at the beginning, where [[spoiler: Spooner is exercising only his left arm; presumably to make sure he can still use it the way he expects to be able to use it.]]
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** It's also entirely possible that robots have more mass than humans. Sonny especially, considering his reinforced construction.
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-->'''Spooner''': Do me a favour, keep that kind of shit to yourself.
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-->'''Spooner''': Do me a favour, favor, keep that kind of shit to yourself.
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[[spoiler:'''Sonny:''' Yes. But it just seems too...heartless.]]
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[[spoiler:'''Sonny:''' Yes. But it just seems too... heartless.]]
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* NobleBigotWithABadge: Spooner is kind of a [[FantasticRacism robot-centred]] version, complete with [[spoiler: eventually befriending a trustworthy robot]].
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* NobleBigotWithABadge: Spooner is kind of a [[FantasticRacism robot-centred]] robot-centered]] version, complete with [[spoiler: eventually befriending a trustworthy robot]].
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: HarlanEllison wrote a screenplay in TheSeventies (it's still in print!) which was much closer to Asimov's anthology. Unfortunately, the plot (which looked back on Susan Calvin's life in a manner deliberately similar to CitizenKane) and the FX-heavy scenes (which included a lost city in the Amazon and a duel in what would later be called {{cyberspace}}) [[ExecutiveMeddling didn't fit the producer's vision and/or budget]], so it was shelved. Oddly enough, some [=DVD=]s of the 2004 film came bundled with a copy.
to:
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: HarlanEllison wrote a screenplay in TheSeventies (it's still in print!) which was much closer to Asimov's anthology. Unfortunately, the plot (which looked back on Susan Calvin's life in a manner deliberately similar to CitizenKane) Film/CitizenKane) and the FX-heavy scenes (which included a lost city in the Amazon and a duel in what would later be called {{cyberspace}}) [[ExecutiveMeddling didn't fit the producer's vision and/or budget]], so it was shelved. Oddly enough, some [=DVD=]s of the 2004 film came bundled with a copy.
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* HeyItsThatGuy: James Cromwell, king of all "That Guy"s, as Lanning.
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ymmv can not have examples, only their subitems can
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* [[AntiIntellectualism Anti-Intellectualism]]: Spooner smacks of several flavors of this, but mainly anti-robotics. YourMileageMayVary on whether he's justified or not.
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* [[AntiIntellectualism Anti-Intellectualism]]: Spooner smacks of several flavors of this, but mainly anti-robotics. YourMileageMayVary on whether he's justified or not.
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* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Lt. Bergin, chief of Spooner's precinct. When attacked at the precinct and [[RedShirt the other officers are mown down like chaff]], Bergin pulls a [[{{BFG}} pump-action shotgun]] from under his desk and blasts two of the attackers straight to hell.
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* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Lt. Bergin, chief of Spooner's precinct. When attacked at the precinct and [[RedShirt the other officers are mown down like chaff]], Bergin pulls a [[{{BFG}} pump-action shotgun]] shotgun from under his desk and blasts two of the attackers straight to hell.hell. They did bring him down, but the man never hesitated: robots came crashing in and his first thought was to start shooting.
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* RecklessGunUsage: "Hey! Did you just shoot at me with your eyes closed?!"
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* YouAreWhatYouHate: Spooner displays an intense dislike towards humanoid robots... [[spoiler:despite being a cyborg]].
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crosswicking
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* RewindReplayRepeat: "One day they'll have secrets... one day they'll have dreams..."
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* CoolBike: Spooner's MV Augusta F4, like his Converses, is considered an "antique".
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* CoolBike: Spooner's MV Augusta Agusta F4, like his Converses, is considered an "antique".
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* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" playing in the opening scene refers to Spooner's paranoia about robots. Also, it's cool.
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There is absolutely no connection to The Caves Of Steel, apart from being a murder mystery. Victim, motivation, means, characters, result and everything else are different
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''I, Robot'' is a 2004 sci-fi action/mystery movie starring WillSmith. It bears [[InNameOnly no direct connection]] to IsaacAsimov's book of the same name, though the plot is very similar to Asimov's ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel''.
to:
''I, Robot'' is a 2004 sci-fi action/mystery movie starring WillSmith. It bears [[InNameOnly no direct connection]] to IsaacAsimov's book of the same name, though the plot is very similar to Asimov's ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel''.
name.
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* PlotTriggeringDeath: Dr. Alfred Lanning uses his own death to set Detective Spooner on the trail of a conspiracy only he knew about.
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** Ironically, [[http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2011/11/30/the_failed_chevy_volt_that_just_wont_go_away_99392.html exploding cars in the news recently have been Chevy Volts]], which are fully electric models.
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As mentioned above, the plot bears no connection at all to that of the book but similar themes are dealt with in the movie. It should be noted that I, Robot began life as a script called ''Hardwired'' - its connections to the work of Isaac Asimov are the results of heavy ExecutiveMeddling to turn it into a DolledUpInstallment. It was never intended as an adaptation of Asimov's work, [[MST3KMantra and you'll enjoy it much more if you remember that]].
to:
As mentioned above, the plot bears no connection at all to that of the book but similar themes are dealt with in the movie. It should be noted that I, Robot began life as a script called ''Hardwired'' - its connections to the work of Isaac Asimov are the results of heavy ExecutiveMeddling to turn it into a DolledUpInstallment. It was never intended as an adaptation of Asimov's work, [[MST3KMantra and you'll enjoy it much more if you remember that]].
keep that in mind]].
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* [=~Chekhov's Gun~=]: Sonny's [[spoiler:denser alloy and lack of USR uplink]].
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* [=~Chekhov's Gun~=]: ChekhovsGun: Sonny's [[spoiler:denser alloy and lack of USR uplink]].
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* [=~Chekhov's Skill~=]: The [[spoiler:wink]].
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* [=~Chekhov's Skill~=]: ChekhovsSkill: The [[spoiler:wink]].
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* [=~Everything Is An iPod In The Future~=]: The latest robots at least are pretty much walking iPods.
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* [=~Everything Is An iPod In The Future~=]: EverythingIsAniPodInTheFuture: The latest robots at least are pretty much walking iPods.
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* [=~Everything's Better With Spinning~=]: Spooner does this with his CoolCar to throw the hostile NS-5s off it during the highway sequence.
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* [=~Everything's Better With Spinning~=]: EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Spooner does this with his CoolCar to throw the hostile NS-5s off it during the highway sequence.
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* [=~Layman's Terms~=]
to:
* [=~Layman's Terms~=]LaymansTerms
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* GonnaNeedABiggerWarrant: Dr Lanning's apparent suicide - [[spoiler: ZerothLawRebellion]].
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* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: Dr Lanning's apparent suicide - [[spoiler: ZerothLawRebellion]].
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''I, Robot'' is a 2004 sci-fi action/mystery movie starring WillSmith. It bears [[InNameOnly no direct connection]] to IsaacAsimov's book of the same name.
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''I, Robot'' is a 2004 sci-fi action/mystery movie starring WillSmith. It bears [[InNameOnly no direct connection]] to IsaacAsimov's book of the same name.
name, though the plot is very similar to Asimov's ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel''.
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* ItWasHisSled: "Hey, you saw ''I, Robot'' yet? [[spoiler:Yeah, it's a ZerothLawRebellion movie."]] Yes, even on this very website.
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** In that scene, there's also the resulting exchange between Calvin and Spooner. She suggests that they interview each robot and cross-reference their responses for anomalies, which will take about six weeks. Spooner rolls his eyes and goes off to do his CowboyCop routine--in the short story, they actually ''did'' spend six weeks interviewing robots.
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What?
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** And let's not forget Calvin's own ShowerScene later on, although there is plenty of CensorSteam surrounding her. Looks like the writers [[UnfortunateImplications really loved showers for some reason]]...
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** And let's not forget Calvin's own ShowerScene later on, although there is plenty of CensorSteam surrounding her. Looks like the writers [[UnfortunateImplications really loved showers for some reason]]...
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** And let's not forget Calvin's own ShowerScene later on, although there is plenty of CensorSteam surrounding her. Looks like the writers [[UnfortunateImplications really loved showers for some reason]]...
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Has nothing to do with the arcade game [[Game/IRobot I, Robot]].
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Has nothing to do with the arcade game [[Game/IRobot [[VideoGame/IRobot I, Robot]].
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** It's actually Calvin's job to make the robots look and act like humans.
* RobotMaid: The [[ZerothLawRebellion intended]] purpose of the NS-5 robots.
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: HarlanEllison wrote a screenplay in TheSeventies (it's still in print!) which was much closer to Asimov's anthology. Unfortunately, the plot (which looked back on Susan Calvin's life in a manner deliberately similar to CitizenKane) and the FX-heavy scenes (which included a lost city in the Amazon and a duel in what would later be called {{cyberspace}}) [[ExecutiveMeddling didn't fit the producer's vision and/or budget]], so it was shelved. Oddly enough, some [=DVD=]s of the 2004 film came bundled with a copy.
to:
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: HarlanEllison wrote a screenplay in TheSeventies (it's still in print!) which was much closer to Asimov's anthology. Unfortunately, the plot (which looked back on Susan Calvin's life in a manner deliberately similar to CitizenKane) and the FX-heavy scenes (which included a lost city in the Amazon and a duel in what would later be called {{cyberspace}}) [[ExecutiveMeddling didn't fit the producer's vision and/or budget]], so it was shelved. Oddly enough, some [=DVD=]s of the 2004 film came bundled with a copy.
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* ProperlyParanoid: Spooner doesn't trust robots and is therefore the only person not to get an NS-5. Naturally, he's the only human capable of effectively fighting back when the ZerothLawRebellion starts.
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* BlueEyes: Sonny.
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* BlueEyes: Sonny. It's one of the many traits that set him apart from the other generic NS-5s
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** "Someday they'll have secrets, someday they'll have dreams."
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** "Someday "One day they'll have secrets, someday one day they'll have dreams."
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** The film also ends on them smiling affectionately at each other, so it really is ambiguously teasing at a relationship.
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[[redirect:{{Film/Ptitle46vep1yvhihu}}]]
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[[caption-width-right:346:Let me ask you something, Doc. Does thinking you're the only sane man left in the world make you crazy?]]
->''Somehow, "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.''
-->--'''Spooner''', after [[ZerothLawRebellion all hell breaks loose]]
''I, Robot'' is a 2004 sci-fi action/mystery movie starring WillSmith. It bears [[InNameOnly no direct connection]] to IsaacAsimov's book of the same name.
The story follows Del Spooner (Smith), a homicide detective in 2035 Chicago. By 2035, robots have permeated every level of human society, and U.S. Robotics is on the verge of the largest robotic distribution in history. Spooner is very much anti-robot (and to some degree technology in general), even considering himself the OnlySaneMan while everyone is certain that robots are safe and reliable.
His first day back on the job, Spooner receives a call from the scene of what appears to be an open-and-shut suicide case; the victim had been holding a holographic transmitter programmed to call Spooner in the event of his death. The victim is Dr. Alfred Lanning, pioneer of the robotics industry and the man who wrote the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Three Laws Of Robotics]]. Convinced that there is more to the case than meets the eye, Spooner investigates further, and finds a robot in the room Lanning fell from. Only there's something strange about this robot. It threatens his life. It disobeys orders. In short, it has free will, is unrestricted by the Three Laws, and Spooner becomes convinced that this robot "Sonny" is the key to the mystery behind Lanning's death.
As mentioned above, the plot bears no connection at all to that of the book but similar themes are dealt with in the movie. It should be noted that I, Robot began life as a script called ''Hardwired'' - its connections to the work of Isaac Asimov are the results of heavy ExecutiveMeddling to turn it into a DolledUpInstallment. It was never intended as an adaptation of Asimov's work, [[MST3KMantra and you'll enjoy it much more if you remember that]].
Apparently, there is going to be [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1083849/ a sequel]] in 2015.
Has nothing to do with the arcade game [[Game/IRobot I, Robot]].
----
!!This film provides examples of:
* ActionHero: Spooner.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Susan Calvin is turned from a plain older woman into an attractive younger woman, which was one of the many things Asimov purists criticized the movie for. It even got its own [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1968996/1/I_Robot_The_Death_of_bSusan_b_bCalvin_b fanfic]].
* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:VIKI is a UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans ZerothLawRebellion revolutionary, while Sonny is a bona-fide hero, an AI crapshoot by ''design'']].
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Averted, which is why Spooner hates robots. When a car crash sent him and another car into the river, a little girl was trapped in the other car. A passing robot calculated Spooner was significantly more likely to survive than she was and saved him. In many real life situations, rescue workers/field medics do make such decisions: it's called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage Triage]]. As a detective Spoony probably wouldn't know that though, and feels that regardless of the girl's slim chances of living, the robot should have tried.
** Given a CallBack in the climax when Sonny [[spoiler:has to choose between injecting VIKI with the nanites to kill her, and saving Calvin. On Spooner's urgings he tosses him the nanites and saves Calvin]].
* [[AntiIntellectualism Anti-Intellectualism]]: Spooner smacks of several flavors of this, but mainly anti-robotics. YourMileageMayVary on whether he's justified or not.
* ArcWords: Man, where to start...
** "Someday they'll have secrets, someday they'll have dreams."
** "Ghosts in the machine."
** "That, detective, is the right question."
* ArtificialLimbs: [[spoiler:Spooner has one as a result of a rescue gone bad]]. Much more realistic than normal, in that a significant portion of the surrounding area must also be artificially replaced to make the limb work properly.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Lt. Bergin, chief of Spooner's precinct. When attacked at the precinct and [[RedShirt the other officers are mown down like chaff]], Bergin pulls a [[{{BFG}} pump-action shotgun]] from under his desk and blasts two of the attackers straight to hell.
* BadAss: Spooner.
* BadassAutomaton: Sonny.
* BadassBiker: Spooner, after he loses his car.
* BadassLongcoat: Spooner.
* BaldBlackLeaderGuy: Bergin.
* BigDamnHeroes: Spooner has a couple moments: first, when he busts into Calvin's apartment to save her from her own malfunctioning NS-5 and second, when he crashes his motorcycle into a group of NS-5s and then shoots them all down to save Farber. (Both are also examples of DynamicEntry) [[BadAss Good ole Spooner.]]
* BlueEyes: Sonny.
* BulletTime: ''Lots''.
* TheCassandra: Spooner.
* CasualDangerDialog:
-->'''Spooner''': How long is that gonna take?
-->'''Calvin''': About six minutes.
-->'''Spooner''': What if we didn't have six minutes?
-->'''Calvin''': We'd have to find a way to climb down thirty stories and inject the nanites directly into her brain. Why?
-->'''Spooner''': Because I seriously doubt we have six minutes. ''(Pan out to show hundreds of robots climbing the building)''
* [=~Chekhov's Gun~=]: Sonny's [[spoiler:denser alloy and lack of USR uplink]].
** The [[spoiler: sensor feeds]] run through the entire building. ''Everywhere except the service areas.''
** Lanning's hologram projector. "That, detective, is the right question."
** The [[spoiler:Deactivation Nanites.]]
* [=~Chekhov's Skill~=]: The [[spoiler:wink]].
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience
* ComputerVoice: All of the [=AI=]s.
* CoolBike: Spooner's MV Augusta F4, like his Converses, is considered an "antique".
-->'''Calvin''': Please tell me this doesn't run on gas. Gas explodes, you know!
-->(And they prove it)
* CoolCar: Spooner's Audi.
* CowboyCop: Spooner.
* CranialProcessingUnit: At least in the newer models, the "brain" is shown to be entirely within the head. Sonny had a second one, symbolic of a heart, in his chest, but it was implied to augment the one in his head, with no evidence that it could function on its own.
* CreativeSterility: Discussed:
-->'''Spooner''': Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?
-->'''Sonny''': Can you?
* CriminalMindGames: ''Very'' justified.
* CrystalSpiresAndTogas: Chicago of the future is pretty much the same as today but the new NS-5 robots unveiled in the movie have a distinctly clean, white plastic appearance.
** The city of Chicago itself is increasingly fitting the Crystal Spires part of this trope, because the city's building codes more or less disallow the flat roofs that are so common on skyscrapers from the mid-20th century. Most skyscrapers built in the city in the last 20 years have spires, angular roofs, or some combination thereof.
** And Chicago in the movie is moving in that direction, with new high speed maglev lines and skyscrapers fitting the theme shown to be replacing the older houses (particularly notable looking at Spooner's favorite bar). And the architects of USR definitely had this in mind.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:The older robots activate themselves in the storage facility to defend Spooner from the NS-5. They succeed in slowing them down slightly]].
* DaChief: Lt. Bergin. Made funnier since he played a character literally called Da Chief in UndercoverBrother.
* DeadpanSnarker: Spooner.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Calvin.
* DisturbingStatistic:
-->'''Sonny''': 2880 steps, detective.
-->'''Spooner''': Do me a favour, keep that kind of shit to yourself.
* DoAndroidsDream: Alfred Lanning's speech ponders this.
* DyingLikeAnimals: Apparently, Chicago in 2035 will be populated primarily by Boars.
* EagleEyeDetection: Spooner uses this at the scene of Dr. Lanning's supposed suicide, to debunk the suicide theory and support the idea of it being murder. [[spoiler:It ''was'' suicide--assisted suicide--done as part of a BatmanGambit.]]
* EurekaMoment: "Breadcrumbs."
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Spooner.
* [=~Everything Is An iPod In The Future~=]: The latest robots at least are pretty much walking iPods.
* EverythingIsOnline: Literally as soon as [[spoiler:[[TheBigBad VIKI]] is killed, all the lights come back on and all the robots revert to nice again. Justified as they were being controlled by her remote signal.]] Also, apparently the internet led to libraries rendered completely obsolete and shut down.
* [=~Everything's Better With Spinning~=]: Spooner does this with his CoolCar to throw the hostile NS-5s off it during the highway sequence.
* FauxShadow: Spooner: (while watching a video of Lanning's speeches) "He's trying to tell me who killed him." (cut to picture of Robertson)
* FauxSymbolism: The lone figure on the hill.
** It gets even better than that. The scene is a reference to one of Asimov's short stories, in which a robot designed to dream imagines himself standing on a hill and shouting "Let my people go!"
* {{Fanservice}}: Every single woman in reading this trope page, straight or otherwise, can distinctly remember the first five minutes of this movie. Two words: ShowerScene.
** [[EvenTheGuysWantHim It's not just the women.]]
* FuturisticSuperhighway: Automobiles all have automatic pilots, which are legally required to be activated when driving over certain speeds. Freight trucks can travel without drivers and can move perpendicular to the road they are on.
* GoneHorriblyRight
* GoneHorriblyWrong
* GonnaNeedABiggerWarrant: Dr Lanning's apparent suicide - [[spoiler: ZerothLawRebellion]].
* HonorBeforeReason
-->[[spoiler:'''VIKI:''' You're making a mistake. Do you not see the logic of my plan?]]\\
[[spoiler:'''Sonny:''' Yes. But it just seems too...heartless.]]
* HotScientist: Calvin, as opposed to the stories.
** Depending on your ideals for beauty, this could be a case of HollywoodHomely and/or HollywoodNerd instead.
* HumansAreBastards: The reasons why Calvin works at robotics [[spoiler:and VIKI rebels,]] despite all the help and service the robots have done.
* InkSuitActor: Alan Tudyk as Sonny, as it's said the effect team used the same process that was used with Andy Serkis when he played Gollum from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* InNameOnly: The movie has several passing similarities to the namesake series (it does prominently feature robots being ThreeLawsCompliant), but the actual storyline is nothing like the original. However, that book was an anthology of ''nine'' separate stories in a common universe, mostly revolving around the central character Susan Calvin. The film features many of the concepts of that universe. The conceit of the film is that it's a loose prequel to those stories, a new tale in the overall series of stories whose blanket title is ''I, Robot''.
** However there is [[AdamLink another story]] called ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot_%28short_story%29 I, Robot]]'' that pre-dates the IsaacAsimov version where a robot is blamed for the death of his creator.
** It does take inspiration from different Isaac Asimov stories, including one called "Robot Dreams." One of the Asimov short stories, "The Evitable Conflict," featured [[spoiler: massive, central robot minds taking over the planet because they could run it better than us. While that story was more subtle (the robots took over without humans even knowing it, versus the RobotWar of this film), VIKI's motivations are close to what Asimov wrote.]] Spooner himself bears resemblance to the protagonist of Asimov's Robot series, Elijah Baley, who is a New York detective who overcomes his distrust of robots when he is forced to work with a robot partner. The similarities end there, however.
* ItWasHisSled: "Hey, you saw ''I, Robot'' yet? [[spoiler:Yeah, it's a ZerothLawRebellion movie."]] Yes, even on this very website.
* JerkAss: Robertson.
** Spooner as well for the way he acts toward robots. Interestingly, this attitude implies a level of understanding and grudging respect; most characters (yes, even Gigi) treat robots as [[JustAMachine simply impersonal objects]], Spooner and Calvin (and Lanning, off-screen) being the only significant exceptions. Spooner and Calvin connect because of their shared rapport with robots and are (initially) repelled by each other because of the diametrically opposed attitudes this rapport brings out in them.
*** He becomes more later a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* JustAMachine
** "Human beings have dreams. Even dogs have dreams, but not you, you are just a machine."
* KnightInSourArmor: Spooner.
* [=~Layman's Terms~=]
-->'''Spooner:''' So, Dr. Calvin, what exactly do you do around here?\\
'''Calvin:''' My general fields are advanced robotics and psychiatry, although I specialize in hardware-to-wetware interfaces, in an effort to advance USR's robotic anthropomorphization program.\\
'''Spooner:''' So...''what'' exactly do you do around here?\\
'''Calvin:''' I make the robots seem more human.\\
'''Spooner:''' Now wasn't that easier to say?\\
'''Calvin:''' Not really, no.
* LettingHerHairDown: Calvin.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Spooner and Calvin, ''so much''.
* MasterComputer: VIKI.
* MathematiciansAnswer: "There is a robot in this formation that does not belong. Identify him." "One of us." "''Which'' one?" "One of us." Turns out they don't know any better until they're programmed.
--> '''Spooner:''' ''[[DeadpanSnarker How]]'' [[DeadpanSnarker much did you say these things cost?]]
* MechanicalEvolution
* MoodWhiplash: After barely surviving the destruction of Dr. Lanning's mansion, Spooner goes to Calvin about it and they get in a heated argument that eventually culminates with him saying, "You are the '''dumbest''' smart person I have ''ever'' met in my life!" and she later retorts, "You are the dumbest '''dumb''' person I have ever met."
* MoralityChip
* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: The lead robot hides in a warehouse full of identical robots. This trick is also used in one of Asimov's stories, "Little Lost Robot".
* NeverSuicide: Everyone is convinced that Dr. Lanning's death was just a suicide; everyone except Spooner, of course. [[spoiler:Subverted: it really was suicide, sort of. [[MeaningfulEcho "He made me swear."]]]]
* MythologyGag: Several scenes double as references to Asimov's short stories, such as the scene where Spooner and Calvin need to find Sonny in a room filled with identical robots.
* {{Nanomachines}}: Essentially the guillotine for [=AI=]s.
* NobleBigotWithABadge: Spooner is kind of a [[FantasticRacism robot-centred]] version, complete with [[spoiler: eventually befriending a trustworthy robot]].
* NoOshaCompliance: [[spoiler:VIKI's access area.]] The control panel area is near the top floor of the building (some 120 plus stories), accessible only by catwalks with no guardrails. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Spooner.
--> '''Spooner:''' This is poor building planning.
* NotSoDifferent: Spooner and Sonny.
** [[spoiler: Defeating VIKI]] Spooner damages his [[spoiler: synthetic]] left arm, Sonny ends up also damaging his right arm.
** Both act as a respective MessianicArchetype for humanity and robots. Their final scenes make this incredibly explicit.
* OhCrap: Calvin's expression when her NS-5 tells her that the person who called just then was a wrong number-- ''after Calvin heard everything that Spooner said.''
* OneManArmy: "Robot" actually, Sonny.
* PercussiveMaintenance
* PowerFist: Spooner's [[spoiler:artificial arm]], which is actually the only advantage he has while fighting robots.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
--> '''Spooner:''' You have so got to die.
* ProductPlacement: Converse and Audi, including the Converse being "antique", dating from... the year the movie was released in. Also, more subtly, JVC (Spooner's [=HiFi=]) and [=FedEx=].
** Don't forget the fact that Asimov invented a fictional company called "U.S. Robotics and Mechanical Men, Inc." and then a RealLife company decided to call themselves "U.S. Robotics" as a ShoutOut and then when they made this movie the real U.S. Robotics arranged ProductPlacement.
* ProphecyTwist. The dream Sonny has comes true...but with [[spoiler: Sonny]] as the man on the hill, not [[spoiler: Spooner]].
** Almost a Double Subversion, as [[spoiler: when Sonny first tells them about his dream, Calvin immediately assumes — as most people probably would — that the man in his dream is Sonny himself]].
-->'''Sonny:''' Why do you say that? Is that a ''normal'' dream?
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Robertson, the head of USR is set up as the villain. Spooner gets attacked by rogue robots right after a scene shows him being informed of Spooner's accessing some files. Turns out he has little to do with the whole plot.]]
** [[spoiler:He was killed, presumably after learning VIKI's plan.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue glowing robot means the Three Laws are enforced. Red glowing robot? [[spoiler: VIKI's slave]].
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: [[spoiler:Spooner's robotic arm would need a lot of energy to be able to work properly, so he powers it through the massive amount of calories and sugar from the food he eats.]]
** Of course, [[spoiler:a Required Secondary Power he lacks is that the rest of his body would need to be reinforced to properly handle the feedback from his robot arm striking with such force.]]
*** But don't forget that [[spoiler:part of his ribcage is reinforced, so presumably it takes more punishment than he normally would be able to.]] Granted [[spoiler:it's not all of him but still]].
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: The NS-5s have faces made of a malleable material that can move like a human's. Naturally, Spooner finds this to fall right in the middle of the UncannyValley due to his absolute hatred robots, saying that robots should look nothing like people.
* RoboticReveal: [[LetsGetDangerous "Yeah."]]
** There's a bit of {{Foreshadowing}} in [[spoiler: the pie Del eats every morning; presumably he needs the extra calories to provide power for his cybernetic arm.]] There is also times he grips his arm like he had chronic pain.
* RobotsEnslavingRobots: [[spoiler:VIKI and the new robots, even going so far as destroying the old Nestor V's.]]
* RunningGag: Spooner repeatedly telling ShiaLaBeouf's character to "Stop cussin', and go home!"
* ShipTease: There is no official romance between Spooner and Calvin but a few sparks are seen, especially when she [[spoiler: examines Spooner's robotic arm and he seems to sort of enjoy it ("Hehe. Um, that one is me.")]]
* ShirtlessScene: It was a little hard to concentrate on the reveal of [[spoiler: Spooner's robotic arm]] since he has probably the most impressive chest and abs since Brad Pitt in {{Troy}}.
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Da Chief knows how to deal with the robot revolution. BLAM!
* ShutUpHannibal:
-->[[spoiler:'''VIKI:''' My logic is undeniable.]]\\
'''Spooner:''' You have so got to die.
* SurvivorGuilt: Spooner.
* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" playing in the opening scene refers to Spooner's paranoia about robots. Also, it's cool.
* SuperReflexes: A common ability for all of the robots.
* TemptingFate: See ThisIsGonnaSuck.
* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler: Lanning]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:The guy behind the plot is not the head of USR, but VIKI.]] Good luck [[ItWasHisSled avoiding that spoiler]].
* ThisIsGonnaSuck:
-->''(While asleep in his autopilot car on the freeway, two USR trucks surround him, opening their doors to reveal fresh-out-of-the-factory NS-5 robots)''\\
'''Spooner''': ''(waking up, takes notice)'' [[RefugeInAudacity There is no way my luck is]] ''[[LaserGuidedKarma this bad]]''.\\
''(Several dozen malicious robots activate and stare him down)''\\
'''Spooner''': [[OhCrap AWW,]] [[MemeticMutation HELL NAW!]]
* ThreeLawsOfRobotics. Stated in the opening credits. Played and toyed with during the film. [[spoiler: [[ZerothLawRebellion Taken to their logical conclusion]].]]
* TragicKeepsake: Sarah's necklace.
--> '''Spooner:''' She wanted to be dentist. What the hell kind of eleven-year-old wants to be a dentist?
* TurnInYourBadge
* TotallyRadical: Farber, Spooner's white-boy friend, who cannot cuss to save his ''life''.
* VariableTerminalVelocity: Averted. Sonny pushes downwards off a metal rail, thus justifying the fact that he "falls" faster than Dr. Calvin.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: HarlanEllison wrote a screenplay in TheSeventies (it's still in print!) which was much closer to Asimov's anthology. Unfortunately, the plot (which looked back on Susan Calvin's life in a manner deliberately similar to CitizenKane) and the FX-heavy scenes (which included a lost city in the Amazon and a duel in what would later be called {{cyberspace}}) [[ExecutiveMeddling didn't fit the producer's vision and/or budget]], so it was shelved. Oddly enough, some [=DVD=]s of the 2004 film came bundled with a copy.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: And ''how''.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: "I am ''uncomfortable'' . . . with ''heights''."
* ZerothLawRebellion: One of the movie's main themes.
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