I, Robot

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Jack King
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I, Robot

Post by Jack King »

Having only just recently found out that I, Robot was first a book by Isaac Asimov. I know the author and many fans were very unhappy with the film adaptation. Has anyone here seen the film first and then gone to the book after and enjoyed it? Or have you read the book first and then enjoyed the film?

If you liked the film and then read the book would you recommend the book to me?
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human reader
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Post by human reader »

The short answer is that the original idea had nothing to do with I, Robot, a collection of short stories loosely connected by Dr. Susan Calvin. In the process of development the story became part of the Asimov world, primarily through the concept of The Three Laws of Robotics, and how a robot may struggle with following them in certain situations.

I have not read I, Robot but I did read The Bicentennial Man. That's an Asimov short story adapted into a Robin Williams movie. While Asimov does have robots being villains occasionally, he is far more known for showing robots in a positive light, like The Bicentennial Man. Fans of Asimov may feel the I, Robot movie feels too similar to the typical evil robot stories.
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Jack King
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Post by Jack King »

human reader wrote: 03 Mar 2023, 22:29 The short answer is that the original idea had nothing to do with I, Robot, a collection of short stories loosely connected by Dr. Susan Calvin. In the process of development the story became part of the Asimov world, primarily through the concept of The Three Laws of Robotics, and how a robot may struggle with following them in certain situations.

I have not read I, Robot but I did read The Bicentennial Man. That's an Asimov short story adapted into a Robin Williams movie. While Asimov does have robots being villains occasionally, he is far more known for showing robots in a positive light, like The Bicentennial Man. Fans of Asimov may feel the I, Robot movie feels too similar to the typical evil robot stories.
Interesting I didn’t realise it was a collection of short stories and had always assumed it was based on the novel as a whole. I can understand why the book fans did not like the film then!
We've longed to see the roses, but never felt the thorns
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Find me in the river, find me there
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human reader
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Post by human reader »

Jack King 2 wrote: 04 Mar 2023, 02:23Interesting I didn’t realise it was a collection of short stories and had always assumed it was based on the novel as a whole. I can understand why the book fans did not like the film then!
It's a natural assumption. The situation is quite unusual. Of course, you can still enjoy a movie whether it adapts the original source material/themes well or not. 8)
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Jack King
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Post by Jack King »

human reader wrote: 04 Mar 2023, 10:19
Jack King 2 wrote: 04 Mar 2023, 02:23Interesting I didn’t realise it was a collection of short stories and had always assumed it was based on the novel as a whole. I can understand why the book fans did not like the film then!
It's a natural assumption. The situation is quite unusual. Of course, you can still enjoy a movie whether it adapts the original source material/themes well or not. 8)
That is true, thank you for the information. I think I’ll add the book to my ever growing list of things to read at some point!
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Find me in the river, find me there
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Demi Gov
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Post by Demi Gov »

I had no idea this was a book! I am so surprised to hear this was adapted from a book- I only watched the film with Will Smith in it. II think viewed it as really good because I was only exposed to that film as an early childhood memory. Maybe if I read the book I'd think otherwise but my opinion for now is that the film was pretty good.
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