Movie · 1999 · Drama, Romance, Science Fiction · 2h 11m · PG · English
Curator score: 2.2/10 (223.6K ratings)
One robot's 200 year journey to become an ordinary man.
Overview
Richard Martin buys a gift, a new NDR-114 robot. The product is named Andrew by the youngest of the family's children. "Bicentennial Man" follows the life and times of Andrew, a robot purchased as a household appliance programmed to perform menial tasks. As Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought, the Martin family soon discovers they don't have an ordinary robot.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.2/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.27/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 38%
Metacritic: 42
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
Chris Columbus
Production
Columbia Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, 1492 Pictures, Laurence Mark Productions, Radiant Productions
Cast
Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill, Oliver Platt, Kiersten Warren, Wendy Crewson, Hallie Eisenberg, Lindze Letherman, Angela Landis, John Michael Higgins, Bradley Whitford, Igor Hiller, Joe Bellan, Brett Wagner, Stephen Root, Scott Waugh, Quinn Smith, Kristy Connelly, Jay Johnston, George D. Wallace
Curator Review
Verdict
A sentimental, often awkward sci-fi fable with a very strong Robin Williams performance at its center. It’s earnest and occasionally moving, but the tone is broad, the pacing is sluggish, and the film’s ideas about humanity, love, and identity can feel blunt or dated.
Best for
fans of Robin Williams
viewers who like earnest late-90s studio sci-fi
people in the mood for a tearjerker with family-friendly warmth
audiences curious about sentimental robot stories
Skip if
you want sharp or modern sci-fi writing
you’re allergic to schmaltz
you prefer tightly paced dramas
you’re looking for a more philosophically rigorous AI film
Overview
Bicentennial Man is one of those big, sincere studio movies that seems almost embarrassed by its own feelings, then keeps feeling them anyway. Robin Williams gives Andrew a gentle, curious soul, and that performance does a lot of heavy lifting whenever the script turns clumsy or overexplains its themes. The film’s best moments come from its simple wonder: a machine learning to make art, to love, and to ask what it means to be alive.
Worth noting
At the same time, the movie is uneven in a way that’s hard to ignore. It stretches a fairly elegant premise across a very long runtime, and the tonal blend of family comedy, romance, and melancholy can feel messy. Some of the emotional beats land because Williams is so disarming; others feel like they belong to a different, more old-fashioned movie.
Bottom line
If you’re open to a sentimental sci-fi fable, there’s enough warmth and sincerity here to make it worthwhile. If you want your robot stories sleek, subtle, or intellectually sharp, this is probably going to feel like a well-meaning relic.
Top Letterboxd reviews
russman (2★) · 867 likes
I started watching this in 2015. It is now 2215.
Will (2.5★) · 755 likes
I don’t think there are any other actors that I miss more than Robin Williams.
monk (4.5★) · 593 likes
Why do so many not like this movie.
I seriously don’t understand.
Caleb (2.5★) · 496 likes
A robot’s 200 year quest to become a dildo.
Hirsch (1.5★) · 428 likes
haven't even seen him kiss a dude. misleading title
2007 · Science Fiction, Drama · 1h 27m · NR · Curator 7.5/10 (362.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Fandor, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A dialogue-driven meditation on time, identity, and what it means to live beyond ordinary human limits.