Review of RoboCop (2014) by Lee D — 25 Jul 2014

I was always a fan of the original RoboCop from the 80's with Peter Weller. there's just something about the character that was so iconic and cool. from the design of the character to just how robotic Weller could behave, this character just had everything he needed to be an icon.

jump to the RoboCop remake. does it have the same appeal? well...yes and no. while this is definitely not a bad film or a poor remake it definitely doesn't overshadow the original. There are some definite improvements, mostly in the story department and primarily in the fact that this time around RoboCop starts out with more humanity but struggles to keep it (which in my opinion makes more sense and offered a better narrative).

the action is good but I felt there could've been more of it and with a slightly faster pace. the performances are solid for the most part. Joel kinnaman as RoboCop functions well but he's definitely no Peter Weller.

the best performances, however, came from Gary Oldman, Samuel L Jackson, Jackie Earl Haley and Abbie Cornish. these all bring something new to the RoboCop story that really updates it appropriately. RoboCop himself is cool as usual, or at least while he's in his traditional colored suit.

when he makes a change to all black (trust me no spoiler here) I felt the suit kind of lost its iconic feel and became RoboCop meets batman begins (normally I'd welcome this but ultimately I prefer the traditional metallic blue and black combo).

all in all I'd say this is one of the better remakes I've seen in recent years. it definitely doesn't take any of the thunder from the original but its worth a watch or two.