March 8, 2014

 

I’ll start by saying I’ve never seen the original 1987 version of Robocop, so don’t hate me for not comparing the two. Taken for what it is, with nothing before it, I thought it was an awesome movie. Lots of action and a decent plot, which is all you can really ask for in a film nowadays, especially in the dead of winter.

 

The year is 2028 and company OmniCorp is at the center of creating military-style robots to keep the peace around the world, except the U.S. Why? Citizens want to be policed by police officers, of course. They want the human aspect. They want emotions. CEO Raymon Sellers (Michael Keaton) asks his marketing team and lead scientist Dr. Norton (Gary Oldman) to create a law enforcement product that combines man and machine. Norton is hesitant but Sellars doesn’t give him a choice.

 

Meanwhile, police officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) and his partner get their covers blown when they try to take down a major crime boss. His partner is injured and the crime boss Vallon (Patrick Garrow), with eyes on the inside of the police department, has a bomb planted on Murphy’s car to kill him. Well, it goes off in his driveway. In swoops OmniCorp, convincing his wife (Abbie Cornish) to sign off to turn Murphy’s body, or what’s left of it, into a Robocop. When he is finally woken up, his memories put back into his brain, we see that all that’s left of Murphy is his head/brain and basically lungs, as he asks to see what’s under the suit. Something I’m told didn’t happen in the original. Once he’s accepted that he won’t ever be the Alex Murphy he once was, he performs almost flawlessly. However, the bigwigs at OmniCorp are concerned that his emotions are getting in the way of his performance. Afterall, their product is supposed to be flawless, without error or hesitation. Right before Robocop is introduced to the world, Norton is forced to make Murphy more of a robot than a human. But pretty soon, Murphy breaks through that too and goes rogue to solve his own attempted murder. What he uncovers shakes up not only the police department, but also OmniCorp.

 

I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I liked the struggle that Murphy had in realizing he’s not a human anymore. And I love that the human aspect eventually took over the machine, which really is what it’s all about. Keaton was really the only big name in this, which was OK. He was pretty awesome as the ‘bad guy’ company man, just out to make money at the expense of whoever comes in his path. I also really like Oldman as the scientist with a heart, who essentially bonded with Murphy as Robocop. And Kinnaman did an awesome job as Murphy/Robocop. I was worried because the only thing I know him from is The Killing. And I hate that show. Overall a great film. I’m curious what people who have seen the original thought? Leave your comments below.