I, Candy
By Joey Fernandez
 
Alex Proyas.
 
One of the greatest directors who has ever lived, in my humble opinion, is back after an extremely long hiatus.  People remember him, (or don’t remember him), from his hit movie The Crow starring Brandon Lee.  After that, he let it all hang, by directing Dark City starring Jennifer Connely and that guy who always plays bad guys and has the eyes of Ray Liotta.
 
That movie tanked.  Cult critics loved it, but he was good as dead in directing another big budget Hollywood movie again.  So he scurried back to Australia to lick his wounds, directed an indie movie called Garage Days, and like all other great directors of the moment (Danny Boyle, cough, Danny Boyle), came back.
 
And now he’s been given another great summer Hollywood blockbuster with a 105,000,000 $ budget in fact.
 
And so how is it?  It’s bad.  The story is a bit long-winded, and Will Smith is almost annoying.  But that is not what I come here to write about.
 
I come here to write about the movie, is it worth watching?
 
Yes, it is.  Like all great art, a movie is supposed to bring something new.  Something you have NEVER seen before, and I, Robot does just that.  2035 Chicago, a time when most of us will be old men.  Proyas brings a new world, kind of like the way Zemeckis brought a new one in Back to Future 2.  A little of Blade Runner, a little of Minority Report, heck even a little of Empire Strikes Back, Proyas inserts scenery and another worldy feeling that I have not seen since, Total Recall.
 
And this director has the guts to put it in broad daylight.
 
So say what you have to say about the movie, but Proyas is back.  And finally, I think he is here to stay.
 
(As of the writing of this article, the total box office take of I, Robot is at 64 million dollars, and it’s only been open 5 days.  Woohoo.  AP rules!)