I can’t say the words “welcome” and “remake” go much hand in hand these days. For every solid reboot that is worth their weight like Evil Dead and Let Me In, we are more often served the likes of Total Recall, Carrie or Conan The Barbarian. And c’mon, aren’t we all dying for the planned updated takes on The Crow and Highlander?
There was without question a vocal bunch of us (myself included) who included a new RoboCop in list of remakes nobody asked for. Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 original starring Peter Weller still stands tall today as a classic ultra-violent sci-fi satire, so why would audiences want to see it done over? Though in all fairness, the franchise has been sufficiently stained over the years by two theatrical sequels, both a live action and animated series, and two made for TV movies.
So here we are with 2014’s RoboCop, directed by José Padilha and starring The Killing‘s Joel Kinnaman in the title role. Would you buy this for a dollar?
First things first, RoboCop can unquestionably be filed in the unnecessary remake bin. To filmmakers’ credit, this is not a shot for shot remake. They do their best to work ground up around the general concept: Detroit cop Alex Murphy is left near death’s door at the hands of the crime lords he is investigating, and is rebuilt into the half man, half machine, all cop title character by OmniCorp. The original pushed its violence to a hard R (the gunning down of Peter Weller’s Alex Murphy is still one of the most graphic execution scenes I’ve ever laid eyes on), while this version comfortably plays it pretty safe at PG-13. The stinging black humor has been excised, the visual FX have been upgraded way beyond stop motion animation, and the confused script focuses on a straightforward human element over straightforward sci-fi fantasy.
A solid cast is assembled for the film, Gary Oldman as Doctor Dennett Norton is much better than he needs to be as RoboCop’s creator. Michael Keaton as OmniCorp’s head honcho also rides his role to the top. Samuel L. Jackson and Jay Baruchel bring their expected demeanor talk show host Pat Novack and OmniCorp marketing pawn Tom Pope. Joel Kinnaman is allowed a lot more time unmasked than Peter Weller was as RoboCop, and that’s where the two versions really go their separate ways. The original was about RoboCop, this one is about Alex Murphy.
For me the problem with the film is that it has no idea what to actually do with Alex Murphy / RoboCop. The Frankenstein’s monster has been mostly lost here. He wakes up in his new body fairly mentally unscathed as good old Alex Murphy, not the mind wiped property of the money hungry corporation that funded his salvation. By immediately giving us Alex Murphy, we pretty much have The Bionic Man and not a blank puppet, which robs the character of any sort of journey to regain his humanity (remember how perfect the final scene in the original was?).
It’s not to say there aren’t bumps in the road courtesy of OmniCorp to strip him of emotional responses in order to create a more efficient soldier, but Murphy’s personal prime directive is to solve his own “murder” and keep in touch with his family. For me taking the more human path in a RoboCop movie doesn’t make for a more exciting film. At the end of the day, ultimately what does this machine bodied Murphy hope or stand to gain by maintaining immediate ties to his family when he’s still property of OmniCorp (as contractually signed away by his own wife played by Abbie Cornish)?
The gray steel RoboCop design is icon all by itself and managed to be downgraded with its upgrade. Perhaps dated, bulky and clumsy by today’s CGI standards (even C3PO went all digital). But when the film decides to “go black” with the mandatory upgrade, the new look actually manages to evoke a tired mix and match of tired sleek designs we’ve sadly already seen in so many other properties. Looking like a Cylon in Christian Bale’s Batman body armor, the new RoboCop may be quick and agile, but doesn’t command respect and fear.
By humanizing him too much, RoboCop has no shock and awe presence. His individuality is lost when he’s just one tweaked model with a new paint job above the rest. Criminals and citizens are not taken aback by him. Even his hip gun doesn’t come off as the canon of pure firepower as it should.
The “Tin Man” analogy is hammered in more than enough, in both musical terms and by Jackie Earl Haley’s former soldier Mattox, who is hell bent on debunking any uses for a man and machine hybrid who might replace OmniCorp’s robots that look like first cousins to BSG’s Cylons.
Sure, you can expect familiar quotes from the original. Used with similar well placed discretion Rise of the Planet of the Apes did with many of the lines associated with the original Heston classic. The RoboCop theme is back too, but seems out of place with the tone of the film. There are a few well paced action sequences showcasing some dazzling special effects and RoboCop’s speed and agility, even against old icons like the big ED-209’s.
Overall, by credits roll I felt no want to see where things go next. There are more than enough possibilities to explore, but the way this movie ends doesn’t truly entice an audience towards a part two in the “leave them wanting more” train of thought. Kinnaman is allowed very little room create a charismatic hero despite the exponential more face time he had in the role than Peter Weller did, and that can be a franchise killer. Anything these days can be sequel’d off, but this take on RoboCop left me feeling like I’ve seen enough and be better of just re-watching the 1987 film that managed to hit all the marks on so many levels.
RoboCop opens on February 12th in theaters and IMAX.
REVIEW RATING: ★★★★★
Director: Jose Padilha
Starring: Joel Kinnamen, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earl Haley, Jay Baruchel
Screenwriters: Joshua Zetumer
Studio: Sony Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 118 minutes
Leave a Reply