RoboCop (2014)

Credit: MGM/Columbia Pictures

When writing a review, it's best to begin with an open mind, which is especially hard if that movie is a sequel or a remake. A movie needs to be judged on it's own merit, not based on what it's supposed to be or what it has to live up to. I am a very vocal critic of remakes and unnecessary sequels, which I will bitch about endlessly online, but I still try to give each movie a fair chance.

It was especially difficult to overcome for 2014's RoboCop remake because it was supposed to be Summer 2013's RoboCop. It's never a good sign when a movie is bumped to a different time of the year, and it's an even bigger warning sign when a movie is bumped to the winter months. January and February are a notorious dumping ground for movies; you could consider it a movie graveyard, because some are moved here to die. I don't know if it's that studios lose faith in a movie's ability to sell tickets and recoup the budget, so they hold off on it, or perhaps it's just a coincidence that it was moved. 2010's The Crazies remake was a surprise hit, while that same month's The Wolfman remake was not. This time of the year is a great time if your movie happens to feature it's leading actor in drag, especially if he's a black man. Here I am judging RoboCop before it even hits the movie screens, so I'm already failing to give it a fair shake.

It's not even that RoboCop was bumped to the winter but it's predecessor still holds up today because it's a blend of action, science fiction, black comedy, and social commentary that has rarely been matched. This newer RoboCop is lighter on laughs but still provides a dose of social/political commentary. I am not going to claim to be an expert on political issues (I'm sure I lie on the ignorant side than the informed), but from my point of view, our country and military feel that being a "super power" nation that were are, we must spread democracy to other nations. The mission statement seems to be that "if it works here, it'll work everywhere." So we station troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, all over the Middle East, and other countries we feel we can offer "assistance." It seems more like we are policing these nations, and isn't that one of the reasons why we retaliated against England to form our own Nation? But this is a movie review, not an essay on politics, however RoboCop does begin on a similar note. Within the future presented in the movie, our nation is now using droids in these countries rather than human soldiers. The goal is to save lives of our soldiers that may be lost, though it's never said what the cost of these droids means for American tax payers. (Perhaps that's going to be saved for RoboCop 2.) Naturally, the citizens of these nations don't appreciate being policed by droids, so a few take it upon themselves to bomb the droids and fight back.

RoboCop doesn't end there with it's social commentary; rather the sequel does go in a different direction than the original. In the original RoboCop, Officer Alex Murphy is killed in the line of duty by a gang of criminals. The man is dead but his consciousness is transferred into a robotic body. He is no longer Alex Murphy, he is only a machine, though he slowly remembers his past as a partner, a father, and a husband. In this new film, Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) never dies. Instead his head, lungs, his left hand, and a severed spinal cord survive an explosion. He is kept on life support by OmniCorp doctors and the CEO, Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton.) This is actually touching on the famous Terri Schiavo case from a decade ago. Murphy would have been in a similar vegetative state had OmniCorp doctors not convinced his wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) to sign over his life to the company. I liked the special effects that were utilized when revealing what's left of Alex Murphy's former self before his transformation into RoboCop. It even reminded me of a scene in RoboCop 2 before a villain is given a similar treatment, though this version is much more gruesome rather than comical. Another subtle reference to today's political climate is included, which is that RoboCop is made in China.

While there are a lot of top acting talents included in the cast, like Jackie Earle Haley, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, and Michael Keaton, none appeared to have a stand out performance. They were all adequate, perhaps I was just hoping for major scene chewing to be had. Although Samuel L. Jackson does stand out from the pack with the wig he wore as TV host Pat Novak of "The Novak Element." He actually does get a great gag at the start of the movie, which provides the biggest laugh of it's 118 minute running time.

This RoboCop's all black body armor that appeared less robotic and more like Batman's current costume is actually given an explanation that I bought into. I even liked how this RoboCop can be controlled from a control center by his handlers and he's even uploaded with all of the Detroit Police Force's files and video records. In many ways it's similar to the original but in some it distances itself, so I appreciate the effort from the filmmakers. It even won me over once Murphy overcomes his programming and begins to solve the mystery of who planted the car bomb that destroyed his body. Though it won me over, I don't completely love it. If you want to see a true RoboCop remake with personality (because I felt this movie did lack it's own identity), I still feel 2008's Iron Man is in many ways a spiritual remake. For example, Tony Stark suffers a life-threatening injury but is kept alive through his own invention, while the villains presented in Iron Man schemed in the same manner as RoboCop's foes. But I digress. 2014's RoboCop is worth watching so that you can form your own opinion. Perhaps I'd even buy a used copy for a dollar at Family Video.