I, Robot UMD For PSP Review

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Title: I, Robot

Region: One

Genre: Science Fiction Action Mystery Thriller

Stars: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, and Alan Tidyk

Writers: Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman

Based On The Novel By: Isaac Asimov

Director: Alex Proyas

Feature length: 114 minutes

Extras: Trailers

Languages: English and French Dubbed Stereo Sound

Subtitles: English and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 38

Sound: Stereo Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2004/UMD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox

Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Science Fiction Grand Master Isaac Asimov is my favorite genre author. I love his “Foundation” series and his work has had a profound impact either directly or indirectly on genre films and television to include “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” as well as “Babylon 5” and “Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda.” His robot novels and particularly the three laws of robotics he created have been incorporated into contemporary pop culture too. Asimov was not only a great science fiction writer, he was a scientist and a scholar with books that discussed Shakespeare and so much more. I regret that I did not read his books until he had already passed away because he was so brilliant, I would have loved to be present at one of his lectures or just to shake his hand and say “Thank you for all of your great work.” Besides “I, Robot” the most recent story written by Asimov to make it to the big screen was “Bicentennial Man.” Writer Harlan Ellison wrote a screenplay adaptation of “I, Robot” decades ago that was never produced though it was published and is available in bookstores for those curious about what might have been had Ellison’s adaptation been produced.

There are a lot of differences made in the story to make it a big screen blockbuster and it was one of the hits of the summer of 2004. All I can state is that while the movie’s action may not be entirely true to the book, I feel that in spirit, enough of Asimov’s vision remained intact and while I’d still love to see Ellison’s adaptation be produced someday, I am glad that the film finally got made and that it was not a total loss. In this feature film version, Will Smith is a detective investigating the murder of a scientist. He believes he was killed by a robot, but if that were so it would violate the three laws of robotics that are supposed to prevent something like that from ever occurring. His search leads to various twists and turns and lots of big screen action and eye candy.

The UMD edition of “I, Robot” does not contain any of the extra value materials directly related to the film as can be seen on both DVD releases available. It has also been altered from the original (2.35:1) aspect ratio found on the widescreen DVD editions to an anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio presentation to suit the 16 by 9 display found on the Sony PSP. While I personally feel that no film should be cropped especially with a portable system that features a 16 by 9 display, I know that some HDTV broadcasts of feature films are cropped in a similar way and the majority of the studios releasing films on UMD appear to be following this practice. While I wish things were different, I won’t complain endlessly about it because I think the view of the software developers is that the UMD-Video user is not the same kind of serious movie fan that most DVD consumers are.

What I think all of the studios should understand is that most consumers buying PSP units and UMD movies are very cinema savvy and there are more movies available now on UMD for PSP than there are any other form of software, which means the demand is there and these people are also DVD consumers too.

Not surprisingly “I, Robot” looks fantastic on UMD and the English Stereo Soundtrack has a very high fidelity to it as well. A French Language Stereo Soundtrack and English and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the UMD as options too. The interactive menus are beautifully animated and easy to navigate. Trailers for “Alien” and “Alien Vs. Predator” are present on the UMD as well. Within the keep case there is an insert detailing available and future Fox UMD releases and information on a website where users can let Fox know which films they would like to see on UMD. The web address is www.foxhome.com/psp.

“I, Robot” is available on UMD for the PSP now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

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