Genre: Crime/Sci-fi
Directed: Jose Padilha
Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel Jackson and Michael Keaton.
Running: 118 mins
At the hands of greedy Hollywood and lazy ideas, no movie is
safe from being thrown into that big pile of remakes that cinemagoers know all
too well. It is fair to say that modern directors in most cases, the up and
coming, are the most gutsy when it comes to revisiting a cult classic such as
Robcop. There are many reasons a director may pick up such a poisoned chalice
but the legitimate reason is money. For fans of the original it is quite
nonsensical but for the neutral and more importantly the younger demographic it
is destined to find, it is clever and ultimately extremely rich. Way before
remakes and Gothic robots was a time when director Paul Veroeven challenged
James Cameron’s Terminator in 1987. Paul crafted his own futuristic tale of a dystopic
Detroit bowing to the presence of a man in a machine who, considering the era
and rating of the movie, it wouldn’t hesitate in blowing your head off – the
violence was ripe and that is what signified 80′s cinema.
Twenty seven years down the line Jose Padilha directs a
Robocop movie that is clearly modernised to suit the criteria of 21st century
blockbuster; it’s visually teasing, not very action packed but sticking with
the original plot respectively.
The year is 2028 and technological conglomerate Ominicorp is
fighting for robotic protection on the streets of Detroit. At the centre of
this debate is Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton). Having inherited billions from
his military robots overseas, for Raymond, America’s fight against such
prospect is a hard pill to swallow. He is hell-bent on altering a machine based
authority that citizens can look up to with trust and support. We are
consistently reminded of the need for such placement through Pat Novak (Samuel
Jackson) who asks the question; “Why is America so Robophobic”? This is
supposed to create a giggle or two.
On the other side of the not-so gritty city is our
protagonist Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnamen). Murphy is a family man and a respected
cop. Unfortunately for Murphy his eagerness to put certain criminals behind
bars results in a car bomb which explodes at close range. Shattered and burned
to a crisp, the decision of Murphy’s last breath is down to his distraught wife
Clara (Abbie Cornish). She is given a life changing decision by Omincorp; seek
benefit in society by creating a robotic hero, or let Murphy die a hero’s
death. Thanks to Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) Raymond Sellar’s vision for a
safer city pays off as Murphy awakens inside robotic armour.
This is a remake with little evidence as to why the city of
Detroit is so ridden with scum that it needs such authority. I mean Detroit has
never looked so clean. It is weak in its story, lacking any such motive as to
why the town needs a saviour. It depends on the monologue from Samuel Jackson’s
Pat Novak to keep you informed and to remind you why America needs this and how
pro-American his own status is. Pat Novak, like Tom Pope (Jay Bruchel) and the
arrogant Rick Mattox (Jackie Earl Haley) are the comedic twist to this drunken
CGI fest. For instance Rick, who continues to call Murphy Tinman, plays the
Wizard of Oz favourite “If I only had a heart” over a training montage.
Joel Kinnamen as Robocop can do no wrong. The scenes which
show him interacting with his family are almost sympathetic. Murphy is aware of
his new body from the second he awakens which opens the door for some quality
time as Robodad. I cannot help but be appalled as to why Robocop’s suit is
black? And what felt more ironic is that a former Batman requested it! We are
teased from the beginning with the vintage metal outlook but hey, as a remake
is the poison chalice, if you steer too close to the original or too far,
you’re criticised. So yes, Robocop’s transformation to gothicbot should be
criticised. He looks and moves more like the robotic ninjas from Robocop 3.
The overall movie is lethargic and timid with its
characters. This underwhelming story involves more crocodile tears than The
Notebook. It bleeds us dry with attempted emotion forgetting the purpose of the
franchise; it lacks the action necessary to support its title and very little
can be said for Joel Kinneman other than he played a robot. But hey, it is
better than Robocop 3
Nitpicking aside, Robocop is entertaining in parts with a
little bit of nostalgia. It lacked the necessary action that the original gave
us, along with the grit and the memorable villain. I enjoyed the last 15
minutes, not because it ended, but because Robocop finally grows a pair of
metal ones!
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