Well, it's been a while since I've posted a blog and I decided, why not pick it up again. And what better way for a movie fan to reboot his blog than to write a review about a rebooted movie, right? And, hey, the mediocrity of Robocop matches the mediocrity of my writing abilities. Hopefully both the movies and my writing get progressively better throughout the year.
First off, the movie was not entirely bad. It was just what it was. It is in my Top 10 list for 2014 already, but that may be because it's the only movie I've seen that was released this year. :) And I am going to compare it to the original 1987 film of the same name. I say if you don't want comparisons, then make an original movie. Notice though that even as a fan of the original, I still gave this one a shot.
First problem....Rebootcop took a little different approach than the original when it comes to the satire. It mellowed it way out. Robocop '87 was a loud, over the top, in your face satire. The over the top is what I loved. Reboot seemed to go with a more straight-forward sci-fi action flick. This is fine, and even worked fine. Then there was Samuel L. Jackson. His character of Novak would have worked perfectly in the original (or on Fox news, take your pick). However his scenes in this movie were totally jarring and completely took me out of the movie each time he came on because it seemed to be such a different tone from the rest of the movie.
Reboot also, to me, seemed to gloss over the humanity vs. machine aspect of the original. Yes, it was there, but it was really sacrificed so they could draw out the process of what it took to make Robocop. I don't need to know all the scientific crap you made up as to how he was created. Just leave it at, "Hey we put a guy in a robot suit. Trust us, the science works." Then get on with the action. I will admit that it was cool to see them take away the suit and show what was left, but it was totally unnecessary.
Because the action is what worked in this movie for the most part. There is a scene towards the end that is really jumbled, so they don't have to show any real terrible violence because of the PG-13 rating. You'll know it when you see it. Don't want to give anything away. However the rest worked pretty well for me. The suit worked for me too. There were a lot of naysayers about the suit when the pictures first leaked. However, it really worked in context with the story. We really got a faster, more agile Robocop with this new movie, instead of the clunky old 80's robot. His use of the technology to solve the crimes was well done too.
Another strong point to the movie was the cast. It was good to see Michael "Mr. Mom" Keaton in the corporate douchebag role. Jackie "Rorschach" Earle Haley was just a fun character as the creator of the other robot drones in the film. And I thought Gary "Commissioner Gordon" Oldman shined as the head scientist. He may have shined a little too brightly though because he was so focused on, that I found myself feeling more sympathy for his character than for Robocop himself. Joel Kinneman did a perfectly acceptable job, but he was no Peter Weller. Also, as good as the cast was, there just wasn't a real memorable bad guy. There was no Kurtwood Smith.
Overall, I thought the overall subject matter of the film is more relevant today than ever. Man vs. machine. Humanity vs. emotionless drones. It just would have been better suited if they had not called it Robocop, and made it it's own movie instead. It's worth a rental, or a matinee. It may actually be an even better movie, if you've never seen the original. But overall, it's a pretty generic action flick. I don't see it ever reaching the cult status of Robocop '87.
Rating: *****----- (5 out of 10)
Memorable quote:
Robocop: "Dead or alive. You're coming with me."
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