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I saw the new ROBOCOP a few weeks ago and have been meaning to say something about it...
SPOILER ALERT!
First, it was GREAT! It was an excellent remake of a great movie! There were many differences and
overall it is really good.
The premise is the same - cop Alex Murphy is severely injured in the line of duty and is used for an
experimental project and giving him his life back - but it stops there. The corporation, Omni Corp., is
looking to put robots on the streets of America to aid in defense and crime prevention and control.
The government has said NO and Omni Corp. is looking to 'work around' this no. In walks what is
left of Alex Murphy. Murphy and his partner, John Lewis, are after a crime boss. The boss gets word
of this from dirty cops and Murphy is blown up in a car bomb. Murphy gets used for Omni Corp's
project and Robocop is born.
There are many differences in this new version that I found refreshing. Cops going after crime bosses
and doing police work for one and the fact that both Murphy and Lewis are not 'beat' cops but detec-
tives. Lewis being a black man/African-American man was a great modernization, and makes a Lot of sense, as the movie takes place in Detroit, a city with a large African-American population.
In fact, several African-Americans are in this film, most notable one of the dirty detectives, the cap-
tain of Murphy's division, and Cameo's of TV News Reporter/Opinionist Pat Novak played by the
ever vibrant and energetic Samuel L. Jackson
Also, this update makes all the characters more human and thus makes the movie more human, ask-
ing the question what it Really means to Be human. This is a major plot point as most of Murphy's
body is gone. Only his head, hand and respitory organs and heart remain. Murphy isn't so much a
man in a robot's body as he is a robot with human parts and Murphy, well played by actor Joel
Kinnaman, struggles with this and how he can be a husband and father to his family when so little
physical humanity remains. He takes us through a convincing journey to his humanity and back to
his family by the movies end.
All the actors and actresses in this film were great and Gary Oldman, playing the part of Dr. Dennett
Norton, adds a great amount of humanity to the film, struggling with what he is creating verses how
to help Murphy save his family and humanity.
The only part of this remake that falls remotely flat is the part of Raymond Sellars, played by Michael
Keaton. Not due to Keaton's acting but due to the ambiguous way Sellars is portrayed through much
of the movie. We know he is just interested in getting robots on the streets of America but he does not
feel sinister or...'Corporate' enough until maybe the third act of the film. Again, Keaton plays this part well but through the script he just doesn't come off as a really bad guy. Just someone looking to make
money and that's were the whole humanizing of this remake fails a bit.
Overall, this remake is Great and shows the humanity of all the persons involved, sometimes to the
slight detriment of the film.
If you haven't seen it, Go See this movie remake! It's worth the time!
( I made this a bit short so if I didn't hit on some things y'all's will just have to go see the movie to get them answered!)
My next movie review will be on 'Son of God' sometime this weekend.
That's all for Now, Space-Pals!
Remember: Life is Insane. You're Not.
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