Robocop (2014)
The remake of Robocop had a lot of detractors long before it was even close to its release. Leaked reports that characters in the film would mock the original Robocop outfit were often cited. For the record, while something akin to that does occur, the outfit being derided seems to be a version of the original suit with big red and blue police lights which appear on the shoulder pads - so it's not really a swipe at the original Robocop suit.
I was personally pretty excited about the Robocop reboot at the beginning of the year because they brought on Jose Padilha to direct. The interesting thing about this choice is because Padilha was already known for his movies about military police, authoritarian control, corruption in the system, and crime running wild. Sounding familiar? Yet far from being about a sci-fi setting, Padilha's films were firmly grounded in the real life situation of Brazil.
Oddly enough, the biggest problem with the Robocop reboot perhaps comes from its even-handedness. The original Robocop was intentionally over-the-top for satirical purposes. And that's not to say that the new Robocop has no sense of satire, but it's more common method is to give sly references to the real world rather than to exaggerate modern traits into absurd extremes. Even Samuel L. Jackson's right wing media mogul character is never any more ridiculous than our current Fox News presenters. He has a clearly biased agenda, but the problem with him seems to be more that he doesn't listen to the opposition rather than that his position is wrong.
I'd heard some suggest that actor playing the protagonist is too bland. That is not fair. He's not charismatic, but he is totally believeable in the role and I cannot help but feel that part of the problem is, not only the way the part is written, but also the role of Robocop in the film. Robocop is often very much a puppet of the corporation, at the mercy of the technology which surrounds and forms him. So while Michael Keaton (the company guy) and Gary Oldman (the scientist) get to make the real decisions, much of Joel Kinnaman's actions as the Robocop seem predictable based on his particular situation at the time.
I was able to go along with a lot during this film and I had a good time. There's none of the humour from the original movie, but there are some interesting explorations of the themes. Gary Oldman is the real protagonist here and he does a great job with the role. There's not really much of a climactic ending though and this really ends up being more of a selection of bits rather than a consistent story.
The effects are cool, but it must also be noted that this is more of an ideas film than an action film. But then, that's another reason why I like it. I enjoyed the way the film seemed to be putting forward an intelligent sci-fi film rather than a soulless spectacle.
B-