Review of RoboCop (2014) by Eric M — 05 Mar 2015

Honestly, I rather enjoyed this remake, and in a certain respect found it more palatable and emotionally accessible than the original. It might have a too generic action movie visual style and an obnoxious musical score (compared to the original's classic themes) but it develops the source material's themes of corporate greed, corruption, man vs.

technology, and security in far more cohesive ways. The biting satire and violence is toned down, in favor of more serious development of Murphy's home life (a solid decision) which adds heft to the proceedings.

We get more of a sense of Murphy as a person, and his wife is a compelling and strong female character. The rest of the cast plays off each other in fascinating, thought provoking and often hilarious ways (Samuel L.

Jackson in particular brings some of the satirical bite of the original as an inane talk show host). The script may be a bit heavy-handed at times, but the weight of the themes tackled is a nice intelligent change from the usual action brainlessness.

I'm honestly disappointed that I let this one slip by in theaters. It isn't the best that science fiction has to offer, but "Robocop" is exciting, engaging, and occasionally thoughtful, offering a satisfactory remake that overcomes some visual/stylistic shortcomings with a script that, dramatically speaking, improves on the original.