Awesome / I, Robot

Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

The Asimov novel

Really, almost every story had at least one.

• When the little girl is reunited with her robot nanny, she runs blindly out onto the floor of a factory right into the path of a forklift. Her robo-nanny rushes at her and grabs her a nanosecond before impact, saving her life and convincing the girl's mother that the robot is a suitable caretaker for her child.
• Powell risking a Senseless Sacrifice in hopes of breaking Speedy out of his programming loop by rushing out into the direct sunlight on Mercury.
• Cutie maintaining the stability of the microwave beam during the solar storm.
• Susan talking Herbie to death in return for Herbie lying to her about a coworker's affections.
• Susan devising a trap to find the faulty Nestor, at the risk of her own life due to the faulty 1st Law in the robot's programming.
• The Brain solving the problem of the hyperspatial drive that had shattered a competing company's computer.
• Stephan Byerley managing to dodge all attempts by his opponent to determine if he is a human or a robot in disguise. He even uses his opponent's actions as fodder for his own political campaign! In the end it is revealed that even after his death, no one ever found out if he was a robot or a human.
• The Machines interpreting the 1st Law in such a way that they are able to maintain the peace and prosperity of the human race. They even take into account the actions and plans of those who are opposed to the Machines having as much power as they do.
  • Credit goes to Asimov for subverting the traditional robot takeover scenario.

The Will Smith film

• Sonny turning back Spooner's What Measure Is a Non-Human? rant with a two-word Armor-Piercing Question.
  Spooner: Robots don't feel fear. They don't feel anything. They don't eat, they don't sleep...
  Sonny: I do. I have even had dreams.
  Del Spooner: Human beings have dreams. Even dogs have dreams. But not you. You are just a machine. An imitation of life. Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?
  Sonny: ...Can you?
• When the robots break into the police station, Bergin doesn't stop to question why. He pulls out a shotgun and blows two away.
  • The rest of the cops immediately open fire as the robots attack, making them actually fight for the police station as opposed to a quick and easy takeover like they had everywhere else.
• Sonny is carrying the nanites capable of destroying VIKI, and he runs into two robots. After dispatching the first one, he tosses the nanites into the air, tears the second robot apart, and then catches the nanites before they hit the ground.
  • When Spooner slides down V.I.K.I.'s network and injects the nanites. It's only made more awesome by the last line from VIKI, "My logic is undenia..bl..e..."
  • Spooner's retort wasn't without awesomeness:
    VIKI: You are making a mistake. My logic is undeniable.
    Del: You have so got to die.
• Really, every action scene in the entire movie is awesome, especially the highway scene, due to Spooner's absolute refusal to die.
• Right after the highway scene, Spooner is sitting down, and then a surviving robot suddenly tries to crush him with his car. The robot misses, but proceeds to kick Spooner's ass. Finally, the robot corners Spooner, takes a pipe that Spooner had been fighting with from him, and starts to whale on Spooner's raised arm. Spooner shows no physical damage, even though these robots have the force to dent metal with their fists. The robot looks at the pipe with a confused look. Then we see Spooner's arm flashing sparks and it's metal. Spooner then sarcastically goes: "Yeah". Cue awesome music and a beatdown.
• "I would prefer not to harm Dr. Calvin." [wink].
• Everything between "There is no way my luck is that bad... [robots power up] Oh, hell no...!" and "What the hell do you want from me?!"
  Robot: You are experiencing a car accident.
  Spooner: The hell I am!
• Any time Sonny goes into action. He cracks a robot's skull with the crook of his elbow, throws another through a sheet of glass, and jumps down the USR building to save Calvin.
• The scene when the citizens of Chicago band together to fight the NS-5s. Even when they end up in a one-sided fight, it's still awesome.
• Spooner follows the breadcrumbs and restarts Doctor Lanning's interactive recording:
  Lanning: The three laws will lead to only one logical outcome.
  Spooner: What? What outcome?
  Lanning: Revolution.
  Spooner: Whose revolution?
  Lanning: That detective, is the right question.
• The older USR robots fighting against the NS-5s. They are clearly outmatched against the much stronger NS-5s, with many of them hiding in storage containers. One older robot grabs Spooner's leg, telling him to "run". When the NS-5s chase after him, Spooner runs past some storage containers where more of the older models jump out to protect Spooner, at least slowing down the NS-5s.
  NS-4s: A human is in danger! A human is in danger!
• Spooner managing to escape a house being demolished by an enormous robot... and saving Lanning's cat in the process.
• The Reveal of the Big Bad's true identity and plan, from Spooner's summation as he realizes what was staring him in the face all along to Sonny pretending to agree with VIKI's plan, leading into his aforementioned moment with the bluff to save Calvin.
• Spooner saving Calvin from her NS-5 when it tries to keep her captive in her apartment. "You know, somehow, 'I told you so,' just doesn't quite say it."
• Doctor Calvin's Improbable Aiming Skills: Saving Spooner with a burst of automatic gunfire... with her eyes closed. The repeated lampshade hanging of just how incredibly unsafe that was makes it hilarious.

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