RoboCop Review

The remake is one of the most controversial aspects of the film industry. Certain movies are sacred to certain people, and some movies aren't to be remade. In 1987 the world was greeted with what would become an 80's icon, "RoboCop." The movie quickly became one of the most beloved action movies ever due to its over the top action and awesome sci-fi elements. So a couple years ago when it was announced that a remake was in the works, many viewed it as sacrilegious. The reason so many were outraged was because this was a movie people grew up on, kids and teens watched it on bootleg VHS tapes without their parents’ permission. This was a movie that defined their childhood and remaking is a crime against humanity. I didn't see the movie until about three years ago so it never really bothered me and was open to the idea. Well after watching the remake I can say with complete certainty; while it doesn't match the original, it does manage to stand on its own as an action movie. "RoboCop" takes place several years in the future, where robots and drones have all but replaced the use of soldiers around the world. Omnicorp has monopolized this industry, but due to a law they can't have the machines on US soil; so Omnicorp has come up with the idea to put a man inside of a machine to side step the law. At this same time, a cop named Alex Murphy and his partner are on the trail of the biggest illegal arms dealer in the city. They attempt to trick him in to selling them guns but they get ambushed and Alex's partner gets shot. Not long afterwards, Alex is a victim of a car bomb from the dealer’s organization. Alex's wife reluctantly agrees to let Omnicorp save him by putting him in a mechanical suit. Months later, Alex wakes up from his incident only to see what damage was done to him. While it's hard to accept at first, Alex embraces his situation and learns to use his new abilities (given to him by the suit) to his advantage. He soon makes it back to Detroit to fulfill his new role as the city defender, and he truly becomes RoboCop. I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. By no means is it the best movie ever (or even this year), but it's decent. As an action movie, it works very well. There are several very cool action sequences throughout the film that are quite a lot of fun. The original film gained a lot of attention for being so over the top and violent, there was quite a bit of blood and guts. This movie is pg-13, which may upset some people. If it's any consolation, I would say it's a strong pg-13. The way the action sequences are shot could have been made into an R movie; they just took out the blood. One of my biggest concerns with the movie was the special effects since the original is known for its amazing practical effects. I knew this one was going to be very CGI heavy, so it needed to be good or the whole thing would be ruined. Fortunately the CGI is pretty good for a most part, but there are a few times though where it's not up to snuff. The acting in the movie is decent for the most part; no one does a bad job so I can't complain. While the actors do a fine job, some of the characters (especially the villains) are somewhat cookie-cutter. They also try and make some of the characters more dramatic and emotional than need be. The original is one of the definitive 80's action movies, not a soap opera. I will say Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the host on a news show, does a great job and is easily the best character in the movie. There were two major problems I had with the movie, the first being that it takes too long to pick up speed. The movie starts out pretty quickly with an action scene, but loses steam for a while. The other problem that really plagued this movie was that it just lacked the charm of the original. The original is something special, it has become an icon of 80's pop culture; while it tries, this one just doesn't have the same soul. I didn't hate this movie; I actually like it more than I thought I would. On its own it works as a fun action movie, the problem is that it can’t get out of the shadow of the original. If you haven't seen the original, I'm sure you will enjoy this movie; but if you are a hardcore fan of the original, you might not like it and can see better movie in the box office right now. At the end of the day I didn't hate it so I can't say it's bad, what I can say is that the new "RoboCop" is only alright. 

Pros: Several cool action sequences, good CGI for the most part, decent acting from the cast, great performance by Samuel L. Jackson, overall fun action movie.

Cons: Takes a little too long to pick up speed, cookie-cutter villains, some CGI isn't up to snuff, tries too hard to be emotional, some might be upset by the movie being pg-13, lacks charm of the original.

3/5 Stars