Robocop

***
Release Date: February 7th 2014

In 2028 Detroit, when Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) - a loving husband, father and good cop - is critically injured in the line of duty, the multinational conglomerate OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer.

Director: Jose Padilha

Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson

There is always a lot of hate towards remakes. Why redo them? Are film studios running out of ideas? Because they make a ton of money and yes, probably. Look at the likes of Spider-Man and The Millenium trilogy, they are successful remakes that have happened too soon. For Robocop, it's been 27 years since the original. It may be that enough time has elapsed for a new generation of people might enjoy this new take. Still, there will be the minority that has scorned this up to its release.

2014 Robocop takes a different turn to its 87 classic. There's enough change here to warrant its own uniqueness, but thankfully doesn't venture too far from its routes so diehard fans should have little to moan about.The film opens with Samuel L. Jackson's Pat Novak, a T.V network host who supports the OmniCorp's weapon systems. He shows the American people how effective the companies' robots are when it comes to safety. Politics is heavily connected to the turnout of this film. The American people don't like the idea of machines keeping the streets free of crime.

Raymond Sellars (Keaton), President of OmniCorp, comes up with the idea of fusing mechanics with humans, that way the streets will be kept safe by humans who have the ability to think for themselves. Enter Alex murphy (Kinnaman), an honest cop who's in a critical condition after being seriously injured in the line of duty. Things start to go well when Robocop is unleashed, but it's short-lived when Alex tracks down the criminals responsible for his (near) death.

With a 12A rating, Robocop tries to make up in action what it loses in gore. It holds no bloody magnificence like the original. Instead of shutting down a huge amount of emotional thought and rendered unaware of how he looks (like the original), Alex is mindful of everything. He doesn't want to play by the rules.

This Robocop has a more famous casting than the previous one, but not necessarily better acted. Gary Oldman is Dennett Norton, the doctor working for OmniCorp who saved Alex's life. Abby Cornish plays Alex's wife, Clara. She is constantly oblivious of OmniCorp's dealings with her husband, and can never see him when she wants to.

Average and standard are the words that come to mind when I think about this film. The script is a little hit and miss, lines that are serious are seriously upended, the action is good, yet unexciting, Alex's wife Clara is constantly crying, so much that we can taste the salt. Pat Novak's biased attitude pops up every now and then, which is the most compelling scenes to lay eyes on. Besides all this, the story is strong enough to hold itself above water. At least it makes politics seem interesting.

Overview: Diehard fans may not like the remake, but there's enough there to garner the attention of new ones.