I, Robot

[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?

[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.

[Jack King]

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!

[human reader]

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!

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.

[Jack King]

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!

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.

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!

[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.

[Varisha Khanna]

I actually first watched the movie. It was entertaining and I felt it was complete. I have avoided reading the book since most of the times a movie can seem like a let down after reading the book.