After all of the anti-hype surrounding this latest remake in an ongoing fad with Hollywood studios to reboot much loved franchises, I was reluctant to go and see this movie. I have much love for the original movie, although I never had much affection for any of the sequels, so at first the thought a reboot made we wince pain.
So I strolled into the cinema last night with my bar of expectation lowered as far as it could go, and prepared myself for the worst. However I left the cinema with a refreshing smile on my face and a certain feeling of satisfaction in my stomach.
Before I go into too much detail, I will let you know why much expectations were so low.
Firstly, RoboCop was originally known for its body-count, excessive violence, and regular violations of the English language, which justified its 18 certificate it was given. The reboot was given a 12 certificate, which instantly said to me minimum body-count, minimum violence, and a new found respect for appropriate English.
The second gripe I have for the movie was the black suit RoboCop wore. For me RoboCop’s silver armored suit was iconic and instantly recognisable, losing the suit was losing the identity of the character, something I was no ready to part with. Also, the somewhat rubber looking suit that had cropped up on the internet made it look like a throwaway from a b-movie. Obviously this would effect the illusion of an invulnerable cybercop.
Finally, RoboCop was given a human hand. A HUMAN HAND! Come on, what’s up with that? Not only did this robot look like a rubber man, he also had a hand which looked completely out of place and had no reason to be there.
So my rant is over about why I was reluctant to see this movie, but all my fears were erased over the 118 minutes running time.
The story does slightly stray from the original source material, but in no way is that a bad thing.
Omnicorp is the producer of military robotic technology, that is used to patrol the streets of war zones and and make them safe, with a minimal loss of life. Unfortunately the US cannot benefit from these machines due to a law known as the Dreyfuss act which forbids robots from carrying firearms. Meanwhile, Alex Murphy and his partner Jack Lewis are investigating a local crime boss, when Murphy is critically injured. In order to save Alex, his wife Clara, signs Alex onto the RoboCop program from OmniCorp, that will create a cyborg cop with mind and emotions of a human.
The action comes thick and fast, and did not disappoint me, with plenty of RoboCop action. I have a feeling they went down “The Dark Knight trilogy” portrayal of violence, where they are not afraid to shoot someone, but blood is at a minimum, and actually seeing someone die is not focused upon. RoboCop does not hold back with his gun and regularly pulls the trigger, not only can his gun fire live rounds, but it is also capable of firing 50,000 volts, which makes some of his gun fire non-lethal.
When the action turns to robot on robot violence, it is more intense, however at times, I thought this was a slight let down, I felt like I was watching ‘I, Robot’ or the Total Recall remake. It seemed a lot more generic. This was not to say i did not enjoy it, but it did not have the same appeal for me. I suppose, Robot on Robot action is more commonplace now, unlike back in the 80’s this was a great spectacle, so maybe time has been a factor in these being less effective to me, maybe I have seen to many Pacific Rims, Transformers, or Real Steels, but each time the CGI looks slightly less impressive.
This RoboCop was more human than the previous outing, his memory was not wiped, and was still in touch with his emotions, this give the character a whole new level of depth, and as RoboCop changes over the course of the movie, the science is explained in a manner that keeps the audience clued up at all times.
The black suit that I initially hated, I soon warmed to. We do get many nostalgic looks at the old suit, but the black suit RoboCop eventually wears looks nothing like the suit that I had seen online. It looks realistic, and I really took to it. The leg gun holster is still there, and I think it is a stylish update, rather than a desperate overhaul. The first person views from inside the helmet look great,and I have to be honest and say I loved how the suits’ visor moved up and down for ‘Combat Mode’.
I think a worthy mention needs to be made to the actors/actresses in this movie. For me, all performed extremely well, and are a credit to the movie.
It was good to see Michael Keaton back on the big screen. He played the part of Raymond Sellars extremely well and extremely believable as the company owner obsessed with money and power, the way he manipulates Dr Dennett Norton is fantastic to watch, and by the end of the movie he is the villain you love to hate.
Gary Oldman buts in his now expected amazing performance as Dr Dennett Norton. Throughout the movie he is struggling with RoboCop whether being a man or a machine, Sellars continually pushes him to his limits, concentrating on money and results over making a difference to mankind, the way his character evolves throughout the movie is brilliantly done. He was perfectly cast in this role.
I think Oldman and Keaton stole the show for me in terms of performance, but Joel Kinnaman was also up for the task of RoboCop. He was a believable cop, and took on the emotional side of RoboCop extremely well. He has a lot more fun with his character, as he is a lot less cyborg than the original, and has more inner conflicts to work with. The human hand that RoboCop has is a good reflection of showing that this RoboCop is certainly more human than his predecessor. The hand helped to show that he still is human, more human than machine at least.
I don’t want to give too much away in terms of plot or spoilers, but overall I was nicely surprised with this remake. Yep, I never thought I would say that. but RoboCop was an enjoyable movie. I am not sure if nostalgia plays a part in it, but I think this is one of the better remakes I have seen in recent years, and would not be surprised if a sequel is in the works.
My original concerns were all laid to rest and this has to be a positive entry into the RoboCop franchise.