Perfect cast and a good story

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Robot and Frank is a good film. It is about medical ethics and the use of robots. On the one hand it seems like Frank has a form of dementia, which contributes to the plot. The robot is Frank's care-giver but also a pal who helps him steal, create new projects and get a piece of his memory back. Stealing here is Frank's past-time. Frank considers it a kind of skill and a kind of hobby which excites Frank. Having a partner in crime (the robot) makes Frank a little bit more hopeful in life.I believe the main question in this movie is about how ethical is robotics? Can a human befriend a robot? Can a robot do what humans cannot do? Can the robot be programmed to help a sick human?

Frank & Robot has a touching plot, good performance, and a strong thematic message. However, not all the character designs work, the cinematography stinks with bluntness, and the lip syncing is frankly not very convincing. Among all the good things, the theme stands out. The film depicts a strange harmony between an old man gradually losing his memories and a robot whose memories are eventually erased. The creators also seek further to discuss the existential purposes of humans and robots. All those things work. However, the movie just does not have very impressive characters. The main character Frank is lovable, much more well-built than anyone else in the movie. His son and daughter's motivations are not very clear. The villain is terrible. The ex-wife aka. library staff has been a boredom before the twist. Overall, it is a movie with many good things, and just a few bad things. I would say it is a wonderful film for family.

Frank Langella is an under appreciated treasure and 'Robot & Frank' marks one of his unique characterizations. This is a wonderful subtle little movie that has some of the boldest commentaries in a recent Science Fiction film. It has no real tremendous flash but it makes large predictions and philosophical questions that the best Science Fiction stories do. 'Robot & Frank' is all about the future coming in and sweeping away the old in favor of flashier trendy technology. At the heart of the movie is the friendship between Langella and his robot bringing out the question of humanity vs technology. It showcases brilliant acting from Langella and Peter Sarsgaard who understand how nuanced this material has to be in order to work. Sarsgaard deserves a great deal of praise too as his character presents the most challenges. Sarsgaard's robot isn't really sentient at all. The dialogue is pretty much all programming speak with no real personality. But Sarsgaard has a tremendous warmth and Langella unloads all the vulnerabilities and regrets of the character on the sterile robot. It completely works and showcases an unlikely friendship.There's a brilliant storyline too that goes with the main themes of the film about the library being taken away in favor of it being a trendy hub of rich hipsters who think the idea of a library is fun and ironic. It's sad because it's so true. The movie says it takes place in the not so distant future and I got depressed thinking that Langella's character could have been born the same time as me. It really made me think about books and objects and the kind of weight you put on them. It's no doubt what the film intended and it really worked.'Robot & Frank' is a gem and a film that should be watched in order to really appreciate the Science Fiction genre. The great Science Fiction films are a reflection of our fears and uncertainties in the present and how the fantastic futuristic worlds can reflect them back on us. 'Robot & Frank' is that brought down to it's bare essence with two wonderful performances. It is touching and wondrous.

Robot films are difficult to pull off. You have to create a story around robot(s) and presumably quite a few humans that feels fluid and natural. With Robot & Frank, the relationship between the two of them wasn't the problem. In fact, I think the best parts of the film were the two bickering or bantering back and forth. Well, I guess it was mostly just Frank doing the bickering, but still. I enjoyed the dynamic and their arc together, I just felt like the story around them and the characters they interact with wasn't appealing.Frank, played by Frank Langella, is an aging lonely man who doesn't really want anything to do with people who try and help him with his dementia. His son, played by James Marsden, buys him a robot who is supposed to help around the house. Of course, at first Frank is opposed to the idea but soon grows to enjoy the robot's company. He then decides to convince the robot to accompany him on a series of cat burglaries as he was once a convicted criminal. This was the side of the film that I just didn't buy into. It's a new and interesting take on the sci-fi genre, but I thought the execution was poor. I liked the development of Frank and his love interest's relationship, played by Susan Sarandon, was far more interesting and satisfying than what the robberies had to offer. I think if the film focused more on the trio of the robot, Frank, and her, the film would have resonated much more with me. Plus, I never really saw the need of having either of his two kids even in the film. Liv Tyler seemed like she didn't know what to do with her character and the lines she was given.So in all, Robot & Frank proved to be a disappointing film that had the potential to be great. Characters and story arcs ended up being unnecessary in an otherwise sweet tale of a man dealing with dementia. Hopefully Jake Schreier can pick it up for this summer's Paper Towns.+Langella +Early scenes with Robot -Third act left turn needed more build up -Liv Tyler felt out of place -Crime aspect wasn't appealing5.8/10