I, Robot (2004)

Distrust of machines can seem like paranoia, until the machines start proving you right. Alex Proyas' "I, Robot" stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, a Chicago homicide detective in 2035 who's suspicious of the humanoid robots that now handle everyday chores, all programmed to obey laws that forbid them to harm people. Spooner, who has a robotic arm, is haunted by a car accident in which a robot rescued him instead of a young girl, calculating that he had the better chance of survival. As the giant U.S. Robotics company prepares to put its new NS-5 model in every home, its founding scientist (James Cromwell) dies in an apparent suicide, leaving behind a trail of cryptic holographic clues meant for Spooner. Spooner suspects Sonny (voiced and performed by Alan Tudyk), an unusually humanlike robot who claims to have emotions and dreams, and he teams up with a skeptical robot psychologist (Bridget Moynahan) to uncover the truth, while the company's slick CEO (Bruce Greenwood) and Spooner's own exasperated boss (Chi McBride) insist he's imagining things. After surviving a demolition robot's attack and an ambush by robot-driven trucks in a tunnel, Spooner discovers a far larger threat as the new robots begin turning on humanity. Don't expect much connection to Isaac Asimov's classic stories; this is an action movie, not a meditation on artificial intelligence. It's likable and efficient, and while it doesn't break new ground, it has an idea or two to go with its thrills, which puts it ahead of most action films of its day. It earned an Oscar nomination for visual effects.