I saw this film for the first time recently, on video - so on the one hand, I got to examine it closely, but OTOH the resolution and pic quality wasn't as good as DVD or cinema.

Whatever valid criticisms can be made, it was still pretty good entertainment and seemed to have a heart. And quite imaginative, like that chilling battle scene between new and older, outdated robots.

Even though the animation was really good, some people (me too) still think the robots still look 'too digital', ie. not really physical objects. Did anyone here think so too?

One exception was the gigantic demolition robot, which was all scuffed and scratched and very realistic.

Note that since CGI is still new and evolving, and so startling at first sight, we can 'convince ourselves' that it looks totally real. But I find a lot of it still too 'animated' and smooth looking, not quite real (for instance, simulated volcanic eruptions ..)

(View the clip on this page for some good intro to the visual effects in the film. IMHO even though they tried very hard to include reflection and refractive effects, the result is still not convincingly physical. However the clever human characterisation of 'Sonny' tends to compensate for this)