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Trust Weighted
OK
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83Trust Points
Felix's Review
Summary - Good 3.0
RoboCop gets himself updated with this 2014 remake that, incredibly, I WOULD buy for a dollar.
21 years after the belly-flopping, jet-packing, arm-cannoning Robocop 3, we finally have a new episode of our cyborg hero letting his big gun do the talking. Only now he has two big guns….but he doesn’t use them that much….because there’s more character development than anything else in this.
When Officer Alex Murphy is critically injured by a car bomb, Omnicorp (our OCP replacement company) sees an opportunity to show the world that their automated police force is the way of the future. They turn Murphy into RoboCop, the unstoppable law enforcement cyborg, and set him loose on a crime riddled Detroit (didn’t need a lot of imagination there lol). Now unlike the original, this RoboCop is full of sub plots. Too many for my taste and it rushes the movie to the end without the buildup of a proper villain and the climax falls on its face much like Dick Jones in the original. It’s hard to tell who the main villain even is at times. Is it the guy who set up the car bomb? The guy who ordered the car bomb to be set up? The crooked cops that work for that guy? Omnicorp? Ed 209? Samuel Jackson? WHO THE HELL IS YOUR MAIN VILLAIN MOVIE?!
After Murphy’s transformation, he doesn’t take well to it at all and in one of the more effective scenes, he begs Omnicorp to pull the plug and let him die. Yes, he knows who he is and the severity of his situation upon waking up after the procedure. No memory erasing in this film. This makes for the entire second act of the film which I felt was the best part of the movie. Watching Robo train and handling his emotions was terrific. I do have one issue about the RoboCop character though. Why isn’t his voice distorted at all? That was one of Robo’s best character traits and I miss it here. Other than that, the new suit in the blue armor is the perfect update and I don’t understand why they changed it to black.
Having the heart of this film revolve around Alex Murphy’s emotional state of mind after becoming RoboCop was an interesting approach, here’s the argument I kept hearing from everyone. “RoboCop is supposed to be a mindless special effects tour de force in which hundreds of bad guys are stabbed, shot, and/or exploded.” Kind of like a Michael Bay movie. Only with direction, dedication, and not being made for the sole purpose of making money but to give audiences something they haven’t seen at that point. While I agree, I also disagree.This whole Murphy-learning-to-become-RoboCop plot was a nice shift in my opinion from the mind-numbing stories of parts 2 & 3.
The third act is rushed like you wouldn’t believe and don’t blink because you’ll miss everything. Robo goes out and in a matter of minutes he kills everyone that had anything to do with the car bomb that almost killed him. Then this ridiculous plot where Omnicorp tries to hush hush RoboCop and kill him off creates the most dissatisfying sequence in the movie because there’s no need. Couldn’t we have spent more time with the crime boss that Robo was after? I don’t even remember the character’s name!
This, along with the Dawn of the Dead remake are by far my two favorite remakes to date. PG-13 RoboCop is ok because we have more storytelling than violence and that doesn’t bother me. Now if a sequel is to ever be made, please please PLEASE give us a hard R rated RoboCop. It’s what we’ve all been waiting on since 1987. I dig the satire here just like in the original but I want me some violence to go with it.
Did news of this remake going into production bother me? At first yes. I’m a die hard RoboCop fan. From the original trilogy, to both animated series, the TV series, and even the horrid Prime Directives mini-series, I’ve always given Robo the benefit of the doubt. While films RoboCop 2 & 3 are inferior to the original in every way, they are quite enjoyable and often find themselves in my Blu-Ray player.
So how did I feel about a remake? I felt it was unnecessary. I wanted a SEQUEL where Robo needs to evolve in order to fight a new breed of criminal and rack up the body count with a hardcore R rating. When I saw the PG-13 rating, my expectations packed their bags and headed off into the sunset. When I saw the new suit, I loved it. I hated it in black though. Looks cheap. So it goes without saying that I wanted to like this film and after the first viewing I thought it was okay. Through time and a few extra views however, I REALLY like this movie. For PG-13 it tells a better story than the original and drops enough violence as not to hinder the ability to market toys and other merchandise to the kids.
Acting - OK 2.5
Joel Kinnaman did a fantastic job in the suit. I was afraid he’d over do it like Robert John Burke in 3 or Page Fletcher in those terrible Prime Directive movies. He didn’t though thankfully. He played it perfectly and had the walk and movements down to a tee. Really impressed and hope to see him back in the suit again.
Michael Keaton showed up and did his thing. Not really likable but not a complete douchebag, at least not until the end.
Gary Oldman just played Comissioner Gordon again.
Samuel Jackson did great as the bought and biased news reporter. Much better than the old Media Break reporters.
Abbie Cornish as Murphy’s wife held up her end of the film and always seemed to connect with whomever she shared the scene with.
Male Stars - OK 2.5
Female Stars - OK 2.5
Female Costars - OK 2.5
Male Costars - OK 2.5
Film - Very Good 3.5
This film is on a much bigger scale than the original, ergo a much bigger budget. The special effects are great but the fight scene at the end with the Ed209 posse was confusing and seizure inducing. It felt like watching Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. I couldn’t tell who was who nor what was going on. Aside from that faux pas, the effects aren’t over the top like the original and play out a little more true-to-life.
The suit. I was terrified that they were going to Green Lantern the suit and make it CGI. Praise Jesus they didn’t. Thank you so very much for that filmmakers. I did like the jab this film takes at the original suit. When OmniCorp is trying to decide on the look of RoboCop, they come down to two models, an exact copy of the 1987 suit and the new suit. Michael Keaton (who plays the head of OmniCorp) says the old suit is too clunky and that Robo needs to be more “tactical”. I agree and am pleased with what I see, but lose the black.
Direction - Very Good 3.5
Dialogue - Very Good 3.5
Music - Very Good 3.5
Visuals - Very Good 3.5
Edge - Tame 1.3
In edge factor this remake can’t hold a candle to the original. There really isn’t anything here you wouldn’t let a young child watch. It’s quite safe from gory violence, sleazy sex scenes, and even has little cursing in it. I’m telling you, we need our R rated RoboCop back!