There are some classics that were so memorable for their quality that a remake was not in demand. RoboCop (1987), Planet Of The Apes (1968) and Total Recall (1990) to mention only a few I watched as a kid (ironically) were so critically successful that no one thought a remake would do justice. RoboCop (1987) was the best thing to happen at a time the city of Detroit was beleaguered by crime and corruption in the highest places. You saw it all in the movie: bloodshed, heavy drug use, crime waves, breaking glasses, machine vs. machine, decapitation, and some hilarious consequences. In the movie you watched a man being killed on duty; his life flashing before him before being brought back to life as a cyborg. The story was tragic and heart-gripping, human emotions overwhelming, a cake stripped of its icing to reveal the truth beneath it. RoboCop was a satire to die for. It was rated 18 for its aforementioned elements of violence and bad language.
So when this remake was announced, I was hoping for something of an improvement over its 1987 predecessor. I acquired a pirated copy and was completely befuddled by the overall clip. This remake is just like the flop RoboCop 3 (1993): curtailed violence. This movie is set in the future and unlike its predecessor, bullets are nonexistent. Instead of bullets guns project lasers and plasma, thus curtailing any blood on the streets. That's how RoboCop's gun works, even though other guns still shoot bullets but still do not shed blood.
The movie starts off on an annoying note: flashbacks of events in relation to the story happen before the story actually takes off. This is what threw me off tangent and lost in translation. So what is the main point in this story? America does not allow machines to enforce the law, while other countries in the world, particularly the Middle East, have ED-209's patrolling the streets. OmniCorps intends to merge man with machine to offset the decision to refuse the enforcement of the law with machines by "putting a man inside a machine." This is where RoboCop becomes a project of priority. When Murphy is reborn as RoboCop he resumes his investigation and prosecution of Antoine Vallon.
You have to be honest, this movie takes a step in enhancing the ED-209 with computer graphics, but also throwing in too much techical jargon all in the name of science. In fact thirty-eight minutes of this movie focuses on the scientific evaluation RoboCop as a project, both his psychological and physiological aspects, and training exercise. For a 12-rated movie the young audience will have trouble understanding what is going on here.
If I have to be blunt, the characters in this movie are forgettable. They do not stand out and you would fail to relate with them on any level thinkable. Even Alex Murphy seems to drift away into the screen every time you see him. He just can't relate with his own family even if this is the opposite case of RoboCop 2 (1990) where RoboCop here had to deny Alex Murphy thanks to OCP's stance against it. It was pretty much as though the director watched the movies but failed to understand what made the first one incredibly memorable. Even the main villain is so illusive that I can not even comprehend his position as the crime boss of old Detroit. I would resonate with these guys better if the script wasn't so bland and devoid.
Give this movie more credit, at least we can see what remains of Alex Murphy. Unlike the previous entry, there have been continuity issues over the organic remains of Alex Murphy incorporated into RoboCop. However, I would like to retract that credit because they preserved Alex's right hand while the rest of his arm has been dismembered. I do not see the point of preserving that right hand or right arm with the hand since he is a machine going against the underworld of Detroit.
This guy loathes what he has become and demands to be put to rest. This scene alludes to the content from RoboCop 2 where the test subjects were former police officers who [hilariously] committed suicide after seeing what they had become. Murphy here still adhered to his remaining strong will to continue as he is and keep the hopes of his family up. He remembers his family and his will to die dissipates.
Embarrassing as it looks, this movie shows that it was aimed at a young audience. They demonstrate a model that "kids would love". I was at first pleased that they displayed the original RoboCop, until they "transformed" it into a toy with shoulder sirens.
How much are you going to bet that RoboCop spends more time in the laboratory than on the streets? I must be frank that this takes away any anticipation of tackling crime on the streets of Detroit as a bad-ass cop. It would be wicked to have him do some damage after testing instead of wasting so much time in the lab listening to more jargon than one can comprehend.
Pat Novac (Samuel L. Jackson) must have been given his lowest position in movie history since Deep Blue Sea (1999). He is reduced to a talk show host debating on the same topic over at least three times in this movie. That topic adheres to RoboCop as the future of law enforcement, and the campaign to repeal the "Dridus Act". (Throughout his talk show he refers RoboCop as Alex Murphy.) He does his best but is dismayed overall having not taken part in the entire story.
It must be painful watching a highly trained neurosurgeon operate on Murphy's brain with immense caution.
I don't know about you but this RoboCop resembles a combination of Iron Man and the droids from Pacific Rim (2013), the Jaegers. The suit is an update to the original model, giving Murphy greater mobility and automated feature on his visor, access to the criminal database and a camera unit. Though I would now question the decision to put his brain on strain by having it access the criminal database. We can see what it is like to have a human brain treated like a CPU: it is obviously painful and has its repercussions.
Also instead of a car his main means of transport is a motorbike. I wonder how a small vehicle like that can withstand a cyborg that must surely way a ton (probably not metric tonne).
So let's be fair, this movie was meant for a younger generation who have never heard of the original masterpiece of the 1980's. Movies like this will appeal to the CGI-crazed generation but not to those who grew up with the original. The story and deep messages are irrelevant to anyone who loves CGI and adrenaline-filled action sequences, but to someone else, this movie overall is irrelevant and inferior to the 1987 masterpiece.
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