Reportedly costing $90 million to make, the Robin Williams-led “Bicentennial Man” film grossed $87 million in 1999, making it a financial failure. Critics panned the movie then and the years have not been forgiving. Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a 38% rating from critics and a slightly higher 59% rating from the audience. However, the 1976 Isaac Asimov novelette, “The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories”, was highly praised and won the Hugo Award for best novelette in 1977.
Asimov restored and expanded the story in “The Positronic Man with co-author Robert Silverberg, which was published in 1992. It was these two books that became the inspiration for 1999’s film “Bicentennial Man.” While the novel was well-received, critics opine the film suffers from a bad script, with a dull plotline that never lives up to its potential. However, some in the audience say it’s “painfully underrated,” and the critics are wrong.
Perhaps it’s an example of the difficulties faced when adapting a story from one creative medium to another, while retaining the original soul, even when featuring big Hollywood names like Robin Williams and Sam Neill. For a more modern take on Asimov’s stories, Apple TV’s biggest sci-fi series is based on the author’s Foundation books.
What is Bicentennial Man about?
For fans of science fiction, there are a few 70’s sci-fi movies everyone should watch at least once, like the original “Westworld”. “Bicentennial Man” explores the gradual awakening of artificial intelligence (AI), through a household robot named Andrew, played by Robin Williams. Andrew is purchased by a family to help with chores and various tasks.
Throughout the film, as Andrew interacts with the family and the world, it becomes clear he’s something more than your average robot, experiencing emotions, creative thoughts, and blips of sentience. The film is named “Bicentennial Man” because Andrew lives for 200 years. As you might guess, that leads to some tragic and thought-provoking scenarios, especially considering humans barely live half that long. Though the book has a fairly different plotline, there are hints of it in the Robin Williams film.
Both explore the idea of AI and robots gaining sentience, as well as outfitting their nigh-indestructible bodies with human-like upgrades. You won’t find this Disney flop on the Disney+ network, but it is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. Those looking for more should check out these sci-fi gems on Apple TV+, including “Silo”.
