So, as you might have guessed from the title, I went to see the new, action-packed reboot of Robocop today. It tells a pretty similar story to the 1987 original: rendered comatose thanks to a bunch of criminals, Alex Murphy is rebuilt as the titular Robocop, a robotic police officer who, in between snippets of satirical news shows, single-handedly cleans up the streets of Detroit. But when his human side begins to override his robotic body, he goes on a quest for revenge against those who made him what he is. In fact, the most notable difference is that it is not a ridiculous jab at big-money corporations, but is in fact a serious movie where they try to play the whole "robotic police officer" thing straight.
The movie pays homage to its predecessor a few times - Murphy's training as Robocop is eerily familiar to the steel mill scene in 1987's, when he finally gets revenge on his killer, and the battle with a few ED-209's towards the end leaves him looking like Peter Weller's Robo after being betrayed by the Detroit police department. But for the most part it's its own movie, and Joel Kinnaman is very good in the lead role. He can be expressive or stoic as his robotic persona demands, and his voice at times rivals that of Christian Bale's Batman, or Karl Urban's Judge Dredd.
But this is the problem. It feels like it's trying to be Batman or Judge Dredd, it's about crime fighting and how far you go before you're the one who's in the wrong. It takes itself seriously and paints Robocop as a vulnerable, confused man. There was never any point where he felt like the invincible hero, as in 1987's steel mill scene where the bullets simply bounce off his chest, and it hurts the movie a little that the cop who can stop any criminal has a weakness which is apparently known by half the criminal underworld.
And it hurts the movie a lot that the ultraviolence isn't there. If you're expecting the traditional fare of gore and death, prepare to be disappointed: there's very little blood, if any, and the deaths are all discreet and hidden behind obstacles or tentative camera angles. It doesn't feel like a Robocop movie ought to, and I feel like the expectation is going to be there for everyone who watches it and it's going to be a massive let-down. In fact, it's like they've turned Robocop on its head: ED-209 is a competent combat robot which does not malfunction, the bad guy isn't some hyper-violent psychopath, and Robocop isn't an invincible killing machine. They've given him a facelift for 2014, and that facelift screams "safe". The problem with Robocop is that it gives you a decent action movie. But that's about it.
Of course, there are lots of wonderful things too: Robocop's roaring rampage of revenge against the people who tried to kill him is shot in night-vision on one side and infrared vision on the other, so we see glorious scenes of Robocop killing a man, the blood splatters flinging bright reds through the cold background, while on the other side the villains' eyes fly up towards the ceiling as we get a glimpse of a grey and white robotic Alex Murphy haring off to the side to kill more gun runners. The new Robocop is faster than the old one, too, more lithe; in the action-packed ending he dances between the feet of a hostile ED-209 as two others try to shoot him out from underneath, light flashing and bullets flying as he returns fire. The action sequences are stand-out in the new Robocop, and they really are worth watching, even if the story falls a little flat. And the gags are still rife, even if they're not as overt or flashy. Samuel L Jackson's satirical news anchor Pat Novak keeps the anti-capitalist vibe throughout, with his over-the-top sledgehammer approval of the 1% and big business, while Michael Keaton's Raymond Sellars is perfect as the corrupt businessman looking to make a killing with a new product.
Overall then, Robocop is a good movie. It has thrills, spills, action, and it's a good time for its 12 certificate and Hollywood cast. But it's nothing special, and the 1987 original is still a masterpiece. How well will 2014's stand the test of time? It's a facelift of any other modern movie, with similar plot and a generic hero. It's a standard movie - I predict it'll be overshadowed in a few years by the next big thing. It's fun, it's just no Verhoeven.
Adieu!
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