Robocop (2014)

[Archivist]

With a couple of movie-going friends in tow, I went to see Robocop on its opening night in Australia.  I wasn't sure whether to put this in Bad Movies or Good Movies - I liked it a lot, although there will be a lot of people who don't, so I put it here to keep everyone happy.  

RoboCop - Official Trailer #2 - In Theaters 2/12/14

Semi-spoiler alert.  I've tried to keep this general, but there are things I feel I must say, and they might compromise the plot a bit.


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Surprisingly, there are a lot of twists and scenes in the movie that are either not in the trailer, or only hinted in the trailer.  The movie begins with an awesome action set piece that is beautifully put together.  The action is regularly sustained to keep the action junkies satisfied, but there is also a lot of emotional depth and development that was absent from the first movie.

As I had seen the original a number of times and therefore know the story, I kept anticipating what would happen in the movie.  'When is he going to meet the bad guys?  When is he going to be shot/killed?  When is he going to become Robocop?  When is the real robo-action going to happen?'  So, it's best to leave those things aside and allow the movie to unfold before you.

The gritty brutality of the original is gone, and replaced with emotion and pathos.  Although the shock factor of the original's violence is gone, there are scenes that are quite disturbing for other reasons that should be obvious to those who watch it.

The action is very, very slick and enjoyable.  Lots of CG, but heck, how else are you going to do multiple humanoid robots and the lumbering ED 209?  Incidentally, ED 209 makes a sweet comeback that had me laughing my ass off in the cinema, although I suspect no one else was laughing at the time.  Let's just say it's a 'you have 20 seconds to comply' situation.

One thing that bugged me was the lack of a 'main villain'.  Just when you think someone is the main villain, they're not.  So there's no real sense of an adversary or 'main boss', like there was in the first.  And a lot of the emotional release that would have happened at the death of the villain is absent, because of that ambiguity.

Nevertheless, it's a great film.  If you liked the original for its gritty nastiness, you won't find it here.  What you'll find is a slick modern action movie with emotion and pathos, and what I believe is a good take on the original.

[Neville]

I think it's a failure, but at the same time I can't bring myself to call it a bad movie. It's certainly a disjointed film -when it's talky, it's too talky, when the action kicks in, it's too brainless - but also I could see how a great deal of thought had been put into it.

I did like some parts of it: Samuel L. Jackson as a pundit was great, they did try to explain a lot -maybe too much- about the consequences of Murphy becoming Robo, etc. But with the rioutous violence levels of the original completely gone, I couldn't find it much entertaining, and that was supposed to be one of the main reasons for a Robocop movie, so...

About the villains... I think it's one of those times when they tried to take a risk and it ultimately backfired. Rather than the usual megalomaniac villain, Michael Keaton's OCP president is a manipulator. He does shine when he manages other characters to follow his intentions - Murphy's family, the scientist played by Gary Oldman, the media - but when the climax requires him to retort to physical violence, it's just pitiful. It does seem against character and it doesn't work.

[akiratubo]

Most of my friends have seen it by now.  The most charitable thing any of them have said is, "It's dogs**t."     The reviews I've read have been lukewarm at best.

Given all that, I probably won't see this one for a long time, if ever.  I'll just watch the real one.

[VenomX73]

[Trevor]

Most of my friends have seen it by now.  The most charitable thing any of them have said is, "It's dogs**t."     The reviews I've read have been lukewarm at best.

Given all that, I probably won't see this one for a long time, if ever.  I'll just watch the real one.

 

[tracy]

Well,I think I'll wait for a cheap DVD rental. I tend to be annoyed by remakes anyway. Besides,I really like how Peter Weller portrayed the character.

[dean]

I thought it was pretty fun overall.  Nothing fancy and the lead actor is a bit meh, but with Jackie Earle Hayley, Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman and Samuel L Jackson there's plenty of talent to fill the gaps.