Reel Insight #80: Will Smith

Will Smith hasn't been on the big screen for over three years now and that makes us sad. What's even sadder is his last few films weren't much to brag about, but he returns this week with a sequel that hopefully won't suck though it has the potential to do so. It was enough of a reason for us to discuss his career though, along with finally getting to rave about The Avengers and what our favorite time of day to visit the the theater is. And don't foreget to vote in our Lunchtime Poll to let us know if you're a morning, noon or night movie-goer.

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Picks of the Week

Jess' Pick: I, Robot - I think this is one of Smith's movies that I like more than most people. In high school, I was obsessed with reading science fiction, specifically Isaac Asimov. His books are what I, Robot is based on - the 3 laws of robotics. Smith plays our hero, a cop, that many people find irrelevant because society has reached a level of peace thanks to robots removing so much of the burden of life. Smith's basic distrust of robots keeps the audience questioning both his sanity, and perhaps looking at the robots with suspicion for a while too. I love the final concept of the film, that robots are smart enough to take the 3 laws to their logical extreme and enslave humans. The execution is done well with the mystery and careful reveal, but the supporting characters don't do enough to keep the rest of the film interesting - Bridget Moynahan is just dull. The special effects with the robots are done well, but there's not a ton beyond the inherent sci-fi geekiness to keep you interested.

Rachel's Pick: Bad Boys II - Some movies can get so much negative hype that by the time I get around to finally seeing them, they're not nearly as awful as everyone has made them out to be. Bad Boys II is not one of these movies. I think the first Bad Boys film is an okay buddy cop action flick, hampered by the presence of Téa Leoni, but nothing to love or hate, just have on as background noise for an occasional laugh. Its sequel, however, has the quintessential case of sequelitis. It's half an hour longer, more shit gets blown up, the humor is dumbed down even more and the plot makes far less sense. The first film already had little to offer in the way of genuine entertainment, but its devil spawn takes that little bit of hope and flushes it down into the sewers of Hell. Example: they actually show rats having sex while Martin Lawrence gives a commentary...I wish I was making that up. I hate you Michael Bay.