RoboCop (PG-13)
17/03/14 21:08 Filed in: 2014
Starring: Joel Kinnaman
February 2014
This review was originally tweeted in Real-time from the back row of a movie theater and appears @BackRoweReviews. Though efforts were made to tease rather than ruin this movie’s memorable lines and moments, some spoilers may exist in the following evaluation. The original tweets appear in black, while follow-up comments appear in red. For concerns over objectionable content, please first refer to one of the many parental movie guide websites. All ratings are based on a four star system. Happy reading!
Cylons patrolling the streets in Tehran. Peace through superior firepower.
An ironic, and in this instance fitting, quote from ST:TNG’s “The Arsenal of Freedom.”
Do the robots factor in collateral damage?
Robophobia. Ha!
“What do these machines feel?”
Robo’s first step...gotta’ love those mechanical servo sounds.
There’s a metal man in my rice paddy.
The pumping lungs are pretty well unsettling.
For some reason this scene is far more disturbing than the myriad people blown to bits in the movie.
Old Batman and new Commissioner Gordon argue over Robo’s effectiveness.
Cylons vs. Tin Man...who will win?
“The illusion of free will.” Hmm...
If there’s any complexity to the story, this is it. An interesting argument when applied to media’s power over the consumer.
Maybe they should’ve uploaded the criminal database after the media circus.
Reconstruction of the accident sequence is awesome.
Warehouse shooting is like a video game.
Which is already on its way to your local game store, I’m sure.
“Bad cop, RoboCop.”
Getting a bit cutesy now.
Robo vs. the AT-STs. A flurry of bullets.
You just knew this scene was coming. It’s a smoother sequence with CGI, but there’s something charming about the old, clunky stop motion FX in the original.
Final analysis: far better than I expected for a remake. Appropriately updates the story.
Oldman holds the whole thing together and Jackson’s opinion TV show is entertaining and topical.
If not heavy-handed in the way it lampoons a particular political slant.
Rating: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars. Has some heart and a decent plot, but something’s missing here.
This is a valiant attempt at updating the 80s classic with modern technology and trappings, but it’s ultimately an effort that falls flat. Hollywood has always been sequel happy, but was remaking Robocop (1987), which hasn’t aged very well, a solid choice for a sequel? Aside from the nostalgia factor, is this story even that compelling? The movie reveals acts of terror abroad and at home and I suppose it’s cathartic to see a good guy with the power to defeat evildoers, but a superhero movie could’ve just as easily fulfilled such a need. Is this premise too silly for the more sophisticated modern viewer? Everything in its time I suppose, but hasn’t Robocop’s time already passed? Box office returns will reveal all.