This is a movie with a great premise, a superb villain in Maximillian Schell as both Dr. Hans Reinhardt and his alter ego Maximillian the robot. Some of the staging and shots are among the best of any science fiction movie. And the ending comes close to the ambiguity of A Space Odyssey especially with its shot of the melding of Reinhardt and his robot ending up in a Dantesque vision of Hell, which is incredible given this is a Disney film. Do not forget the haunting music by John Barry which echoes a faint James Bond sound.
The weakness, and there are too many to note, are best seen in the V.I.N.CENT robot and his mentor bot, Bob. These characters were obviously meant to appeal to the kiddies who were no doubt the target audience.
I imagine there were some mighty discussions on the set of this film as to whether they should be making a classic or childish crap. Unfortunately the latter choice seems to driven the bottom line.
The weakness, and there are too many to note, are best seen in the V.I.N.CENT robot and his mentor bot, Bob. These characters were obviously meant to appeal to the kiddies who were no doubt the target audience.
I imagine there were some mighty discussions on the set of this film as to whether they should be making a classic or childish crap. Unfortunately the latter choice seems to driven the bottom line.