Mikes Film Talk

The 2014 film RoboCop is a decent remake, sans the quirky humour. Padilha seems to have overlooked the blackly humorous side of the original. He has instead focused on the basic tale of murder and revenge.

Perhaps the most noticeable thing missing in the RoboCop 2014 remake, directed by José Padilha (Elite Squad, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within) are the quirky commercials, “I’d buy that for a dollar.” And the sunscreen that gives the user skin cancer. These are just a few of those adverts that made the 1987 version so memorable. The Peter Weller film, starring Paul Verhoeven, was directed as a tongue in cheek thriller. Those adverts, so beloved by its fans, made it. that little bit special.

Big Names/New Faces

RoboCop has a good amount of big names attached to it. Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, who would go on to give a brilliant performance in the oscar winning film Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) in the same year. The original did not rely on names to sell the film. Weller was shot to prominence as a result of his portrayal of Alex P. Murphy.

In RoboCop, Keaton plays the Ronnie Cox character and Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman is the Peter Weller in this updating of the cult classic film. In this telling of the man/robot crime fighter the female partner, played by Nancy Allen in the original, has been replaced by Michael Kenneth Williams and Murphy’s wife and child play a huge part in the film, too much so.

Added to the mix are Patrick Garrow as Kurtwood Smith’s replacement, and what a shallow replacement he turned out to be, and Jackie Earle Haley as a new, and totally arsehole-ish character not in the 1987 film. While the film entertains, it lack the humor and the pathos of the first one. Murphy feels different and does not have the same impact that Weller’s RoboCop had.

Just for grins: The original RoboCop Trailer

The new film is good

Having said that, the film is good. One still feels sorry for Kinnaman’s Murphy but from the very beginning when he wakes up as the “tin-man” this Alex is much more aware. In the first film, Murphy is in shock for a long time and it is only his former partner’s persistence that enables him to regain his humanity.

I personally missed the over-the-top villainy of Kurtwood Smith’s character. Clarence J. Boddicker is an icon as perhaps the most despicable bad guy in cinema history. Smith, who later went on to become the beloved Red in That ’70s Show, would most assuredly been a hard act to follow so it makes a certain amount of sense that the filmmakers did not even bother to try.

Gone too is the outright hostility and mistrust by the other Detroit police officers. Still, despite the differences, I enjoyed the new RoboCop and found Samuel L. Jackson’s Pat Novak amusing. The overall storyline was satisfying enough and the only real complaint, apart from the missing “I’d buy that for a dollar,” was the arcade feel to the shootouts.

The Verdict

RoboCop 2014 is available to stream on Max right now. If you have not watched it, here is your chance. It is definitely worth a look.

I give the new version 3.5 out of 5 stars. Points were lost for the ack of quirky humor and no Nancy Allen or Peter Weller cameos.

The trailer