0
0
Lately, instead of seeking out new and creative ideas for films, Hollywood seems determined to revisit, remake, and (in many cases) ruin the things that we loved about the ‘80s. In recent years, we’ve seen new, updated film versions of everything from Footloose and Fame to Red Dawn and 21 Jump Street. The latest victim is Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi thriller, RoboCop.
The RoboCop remake explores a future where robot soldiers are used to keep the peace around the world—but not in the States, where their use is prohibited. In a bid to sway public opinion, Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton), the head of robot manufacturer OmniCorp, devises a plan to create a half-man, half-machine robot with a conscience.
When good cop and family man Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is critically injured, he’s seen as the perfect subject for OmniCorp’s trials. In an attempt to make him as efficient as the company’s other robots, they adjust his brain until he’s basically a robot, too. But it’s only a matter of time until his humanity begins fighting back.
This new but not necessarily improved RoboCop tries so very hard to be sharp and relevant and powerful, taking aim at greedy corporations, crooked cops, and the biased media. It’s political, it’s personal, and it’s business—and, in the end, it’s kind of a mess.
In attempting to build on—and perhaps even improve upon—the original, the filmmakers went completely overboard, throwing in extra storylines to add extra complexities. This isn’t just the story of a man-turned-robot who’s built for crime-fighting. He’s an unwilling science experiment, an unwitting political pawn, and—deep down—a good guy who cares about his family above all else. As a result, in addition to being blown away by the action and effects, audiences are supposed to be angered and outraged by the bad guys and emotionally attached to the good guy—but, unfortunately, that’s just not the case.
While the scenes involving Murphy’s family are meant to give the film heart, they feel forced and self-conscious. And while greedy, manipulative Raymond Sellars is supposed to be a menacing villain, Michael Keaton simply isn’t sinister enough. With a few exceptions, the performances feel either half-hearted or completely over-the-top, giving the film an awkward, uneven tone.
Granted, this new RoboCop is still big and booming and shaky. If you like loud movies with lots of shootouts and explosions—and you don’t really care about the other stuff—you’ll enjoy it. For a truly head-spinning, insides-shaking experience, see it in IMAX. But while this ‘80s update sets out to improve on the original, making it more gripping and more emotional, it simply doesn’t have the heart. And the result is an eye-catching but entirely forgettable thriller.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
