At the Theater - "RoboCop" (2014) -Everyone responsible for dreaming up and assembling a PG-13 remake/reboot of the ultra-violent, extremely bloody, foul-mouthed and loopily satirical 1987 Sci-Fi/Action film RoboCop should get a series of swift kicks in the ass just out of General Principle- they've taken one of the consummate "movies for guys who love movies" (and it's iconic central cyborg hero) and refashioned it into a safe, neutered, generic-to-the-core, family-friendly cash-grab. RoboCop 2014 is over-plotted and underdeveloped, lacking in visual appeal, short on narrative flair and devoid of a strong central villain- fans of the original will find very little, if anything, to enjoy here in a remake that can be filed away in the Unnecessary category. The filmmakers missed the point, and the appeal, of the original at nearly every turn.
Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman (AMC's The Killing) stars as dedicated Detroit Police Officer and family man, "Alex Murphy"- suffering a devastating attempt upon his life via car-bomb, the fragmented Murphy is selected by the powers that be at conglomerate "OmniCorp" to outfit his mangled body with state-of-the-art robotics, weaponry and information software in an effort to appease an American public who overwhelmingly support a ban on a fully robotic police force due to their calloused and lethal nature. - Which all leads to a...
....Major Plot Hole: the American people's disdain for OmniCorp's death-dealing robots and drones has led to a complete ban of such devices on U.S. soil by way of the "Dreyfuss Act"- so when RoboCop's more aesthetically acceptable cyborg prototype is unleashed on the general public, he's equipped with non-lethal stun gun capabilities... why didn't OmniCorp simply arm their existing robots/drones with those same non-lethal capabilities and offer them up as an appeasement alternative in America? Doesn't make a damned bit of sense...
Kinnaman does appear to be reaching for something he just can't grasp as Murphy- I felt he was miscast and simply chosen because of his thin frame (as to more conveniently fit into the suit). To his defense, the material isn't quite there to allow for an adequate flexing of acting chops. Peter Weller fully immersed himself into the role of Murphy in '87, perfecting the shifty mechanical movements of his cumbersome confines while delivering an excellent deadpan delivery. There was weight to Weller's turn in that he was given the material to flesh out an updated version of Frankenstein's conflicted Monster- an obliterated soul brought back amongst the living in monstrous fashion who cannot return to his previous life and ultimately questions his true purpose.
There are a number of heady conversations between Omni-Corp's CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) and the company's leading scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) concerning Murphy's psyche and Robo's aesthetic and marketability, though I soon realized there was FAR more time spent covering these "debates" than footage of our newly mechanized hero dispatching the bad guys. Going in, I had no idea that the futuristic action film that I paid to see would end up spending most of it's time set in boardrooms and laboratories and dealing with the inner working's of a corporation. When the action portions of the film do roll around, the sequences never really ignite- I can't recall one crowd-pleasing moment.
Keaton (Batman '89) and Oldman (The Professional) deliver rock-solid work throughout, though a late-film twist involving one of the two seems like a tacked on afterthought.
Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) plays "Rick Maddox", a military tactician and armorer who doesn't approve of Murphy's hybrid possibly canceling out his fully robotic warriors. There is one mildly amusing segment where Murphy's performance is tested against one of Maddox's droids in a similar scenario- Maddox hangs the nickname "Tin Man" on Murphy while employing the tune "If I Only Had A Heart" over mission control's loudspeakers.
Australian actress Abbie Cornish (Seven Psychopaths) plays Murphy's loving (and subsequently devastated) wife- I wish there had been more time and quality depth applied in defining Murphy's dynamic relationship with his wife and child given his new manifestation, but it wasn't meant to be as a wealth of possibilities and avenues to explore here never materialized.
Jay Baruchel (This Is The End) pops up a few times in a wasted role as a marketing guru while Michael K. Williams (Gone Baby Gone- and yes, he's also wasted) portrays Murphy's former police detective partner, "Officer Jack Lewis". Samuel L. Jackson rounds out the notable cast in playing a Chris Matthews/Bill O'Reilly sort (an obvious OmniCorp shill) who peddles biased news out to the masses from his prime-time program.
There are several RoboCop suits used in the film, with a few that harken back to Rob Bottin's original design- it was a bulky, awkward affair, but at least seemed metallic, machine-like and intimidating (I still think it's fuckin' awesome). RoboCop 2014's eventual black suit looks plastic and downright overly busy- it seems as if it's some kind of castoff from Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise. I actually liked the designs of the robotic sentries more than Robo's, here. This particular Robo displays a fluid, almost ninja-like agility and is able to run at considerable speeds and leap great distances through the air- it all comes across as more of a guy wearing a suit (with obvious CGI assists) than an actual human/machine amalgamation. Perhaps the filmmakers felt they had to compete with a popular Iron-Man franchise...
The various hand-cannons our hero brandishes here look like goofy ray-guns instead of menacing weapons- a far cry from the wicked-cool Auto 9 (a modified Baretta 93R) he used in the '87 film. I liked the idea of Robo zipping along on a motorcycle but was unimpressed with the bike's strangely lackluster design- it boasts very little perks to speak of.
There's a few other good ideas spattered about, but the vast majority of them are quickly passed over to cover mounting plot points and whisk over subsequent events. I appreciated one segment in which our newly-mechanized hero is stripped down to what remains of his humanity in an effort to provide an understanding of his current reality- it seems pulled from a stronger film.
A shootout with a small army of human villains plays out in darkness, with the majority of them being dispatched while Robo utilizes his infra-red capabilities- it's an obvious move by the filmmakers to scrub the situation of any bloodletting and secure the kid friendly rating. Don't expect many curse words here, either- the original was chock fulla hardcore swearing but I only counted one F-bomb here... that one was muttered under a character's breath.
The film's climactic showdown between our hero and several, hulking enforcement droids (ED-209's) suffers from the shaky-cam approach and ultimately suffocates under that distinct, disconnected video game feel. The ED-209's in this film have no personality- don't expect the menacing jaguar roars or frantic pig squeals used so delightfully to convey their intentions or predicaments as featured in the '87 film. There's a few, tantalizingly brief snippets of Basil Poledouris's excellent original music utilized so brilliantly in the '87 film- I have no idea why the filmmakers were afraid to use it here in full.
It's nowhere near as bad as 1993's atrocious RoboCop 3, though my call is to skip this dull, soulless affair and revisit the original if it's been a while since you've last done so- I believe 2012's Dredd, 2009's District 9, and 2002's Equilibrium are worthwhile films in a similar vein, as well.
This $100 million revamp will probably find it's legs at the box-office in the coming weeks, so more than likely we'll see a PG-13 rated follow-up in the next few years...they suckered me this time but I won't be bothering with any of it's sequels.
5.0 out of 10
Director: Jose Padilha
Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Aimee Garcia, Patrick Garrow and John Paul Ruttan
Run-Time: 117 minutes
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material
FWIW-
RoboCop (1987) - 9.0
RoboCop 2 (1990) - 6.5
RoboCop 3 (1993) - 2.5
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