Review of RoboCop (2014) by Cameron J — 12 Aug 2014

I don't know if it's cooler that we have a Swedish RoboCop now, or that their turning Inspector Steven Holder into a cyborg in what is essentially "The Killing" fan service. Mind you, this film also sees José Padilha going sci-fi with his police dramas in what is essentially "Elite Squad" fan service, but AMC sells to ignorant Americans more easily than Brazilian crime movies set outside of the "Fast and Furious" franchise. Just wait, people, because if this reboot for the "RoboCop" franchise has a sequel that picks up the drug themes of the original "RoboCop 2", we may be getting a cyborg Walter White, and it would be awesome, and AMC fans everywhere would have their minds blown as though they were in "The Walking Dead", although that's not likely to happen, as these filmmakers aren't quite that passionate about fulfilling fan dreams. Yeah, I'd imagine people are less interested in Joel Kinnaman, and much more interested in Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton being onscreen together, but alas, Inspector Gordon is not the one being turned into RoboCop, let alone joining forces with classic Batman and, for that matter, Rorschach (People need to stop sticking Jackie Earle Haley in inconsequential supporting roles) to take on crime. ...Man, honestly, I'm glad they're not going that route, because the idea of remaking "RoboCop" in the first place is kind of silly, although they might just be making a cleaner and more marketable answer to "Dredd" with this film, you know, because the PG-13 rating really worked out for the "RoboCop" franchise back in 1993. Nevertheless, everyone's favorite boy in blue is back in black... for some reason (The effects and suits were probably built blue, but once they put it on a Swede, they automatically turned into [u]black metal[/u]; ha-ha-ha), and in Canada, which is bogus, because Detroit could have used some principal photography money, seeing as how it went bankrupt way sooner than "RoboCop 2" predicted. The future is fast approaching, and once it's here, we're probably going to have an even more updated "RoboCop", but until then, we're going to have to settle for this... if you want to say that you're "settling" for this film, something that I wouldn't do, being that I'm one of the few jerks on the planet who thinks that this film is good, and am therefore the only jerk on the planet who thinks that this is way better than the original, which isn't to say that I don't have some complaints.

I have to warn y'all now that throughout this review, I will be going on and on about how this film is startlingly different from the original, in that it is much more dramatic, something that I am very much on board with, at least until the thoughtfulness softens momentum to the point of a hint of dullness, perhaps upon lapses in material to draw upon. Actually, the issue may be too much dramatic material to soak up, because even though there is plenty of fluff and keep pacing fair, the storytelling has a tendency to get so caught up in exposition that it loses a sense of conflict, and even the sense of fun that the predecessors - not even "RoboCop 3", in this controversial critics' opinion - very rarely lost. There's not even that much action in this film, and although that's for the sake of making room for a heart that, to me, carries the final product a long way, the thoughtfulness defuses a lot of momentum when the begins to fail at organically bonding with all of the fluff whose presence is still prominent enough to sometimes overtake the narrative. Although the final product is rewarding on the whole, there are times where it's neither flashy enough to deliver as a fun blockbuster nor rich enough to be resonant, lazily falling into borderline superficial fluff tropes that are reflected in the occasional piece of forced humor, and some questionably trite dialogue which exacerbates a sense of familiarity. I think that this film does a lot of things more right than its source material, and yet, even though the original "RoboCop" hit some conventions as a very '80s action fluff piece, it was unique with a premise, and although I can crack a few jokes about how this film even rips off that premise, - due to its being a totally different film outside of its retaining a few mythology aspects from the original - this, at least for a modern action film, is more derivative, hitting enough expected beats along a formulaic path to feel rather predictable. Now, as an installment in the "RoboCop" franchise, this film does anything but the expected, and yet, by its own right, it fails to escape formula, and that's a shame, as there's so much inspiration, challenged enough by pacing issues, conventions and other lazy attributes to threaten the final product's reward value. The usual blockbuster of this film's basic nature would let things go and succumb to natural shortcomings as an inconsequential fluff piece, but this film has the guts to transcend the call of duty, even when it comes to certain aesthetic aspects.

Now, the soundtrack automatically gets a few points from my prog-rocking self for crowbarring in Focus' "Hocus Pocus" at one point, but in terms of the original soundtrack, when well-regarded Jose Padilha collaborater Pedro Bromfman's score abates, if not dissipates, the film resorts to a thoughtfulness that it sometimes dull, and when it comes into play, it's rarely anything new, and yet, its sophisticated, Hans Zimmer-esque neo-classical sensibilities range from tastefully subdued to grand, just as fellow "Elite Squad" saga veteran Lula Carvalho's stunningly well-defined cinematography offers enough sweep for you to embrace most every attribute of this blockbuster's technical proficiency. I can praise the substance of this film plenty, but when it comes to the style, there's no arguing that this film takes full advantage of its having a much greater technical potential to its dated predecessor, delivering on seamless, flashy effects that range from subtle to distinguished, and therefore tremendously complimentary in the selling of a unique sci-fi world. If nothing else, this film's story concept offers a steeper sci-fi mythology, and it's a lot of fun to dissect this intelligent portrayal of a futuristic world, but more distinguished from the original story concept is, of course, the tone, because where the original was a relatively straight forward, rather satirical action flick, this film, as, if you will a "Dark Knight" answer to the "RoboCop" franchise, proves to be one of the bigger surprises in commercial filmmaking in quite some time by being a much more dramatically charged portrait, not on some experimental, pseudo-humanized robot that was built to uphold the law, but on a man coming to terms with his dehumanization, and seeking justice for the public and himself, so much so that it even has the guts to change the iconic Alex Murphy from a cyborg, - a robot enhanced with human feature - to a full-blown android, a human enhanced, though not fully defined by robotics. There is a lot of potential for both spectacle and depth to do justice, and promising newcomer Joshua Zetumer delivers through a script that does not offer the originals' wit and originality, and has its excesses, but keeps things lively through highlights in clever dialogue and tight set piece crafting, while finding enough realization to the more thoughtful aspects of exposition to provide a sense of nuance and believability to most every, perfectly well-motivated character, who do not feel like fluffy types, and are further brought to life by solid performances. Naturally, a lot of the human aspects of this film must thrive on an effective cast, and sure enough, just about every member of this star-studded roster of acting talents does his or her part pretty well, particularly Gary Oldman as a well-intentioned scientist who hopes to do right by society and a man's life, and leading man Joel Kinnaman as a man of honor and justice who faces many mental, physical and emotional trials as he accepts his fate as an experiment, and seeks closure. Kinnaman is powerful at times, and he and his peers help in defining the meat of this film, but the performance which can truly bring life to this action-drama is that of director Jose Padilha, who could have cut through all of the intelligent scripting and inspired acting and still conformed to inconsequentially fluffy blockbuster sensibilities, but sees the potential of this film, and does what he can to fulfill it, orchestrating style well enough to keep entertainment value recurrent, - particularly in the heat of thrilling action - while adopting a subtlety and grace that, despite its inspiring atmospheric bland spells, most sells the heart of the film, to where I found myself not simply entertained, but engrossed, something that I never was in any of the more fluffy predecessors, including the original which most everyone seems superior, ostensibly mostly out of nostalgia. It's a controversial boast, I know, but I really do stand by the opinion that this film fulfills its ambitions enough to be substantially superior to the original, because even though this reboot to the "RoboCop" saga's tonal distinction from the originals is even more substantial, I find this unexpectedly and effectively realized exploration of this subject matter's substance through all of the style to be more richly rewarding, with enough resonance to meet good old-fashioned action flare, and make an uncommonly compelling blockbuster that ought to be one of the bigger surprises in film this year.

Overall, bland spells in directorial thoughtfulness help in retarding a sense of momentum which is hindered enough by aimless dragging, while trite occasions in writing reflect a certain conventionalism to the storytelling which in turn reflects a certain laziness that threatens engagement value, firmly secured by lovely score work and cinematography, fantastic visual effects, and an unexpectedly dramatically charged story concept which is done enough justice by intelligent and nuanced writing, convincing and effective acting, and flashy, when not gracefully compelling direction to make Jose Padilha's "RoboCop", not simply a rich twist on a classically fluffy mythology, but rewarding as both sci-fi spectacle and human drama.

3/5 - Good.