Film Review - Robocop

Killer Machine

Film: Robocop

Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton

Directed by: Jose Padiha

Duration: 1 hr 48 mins

Rating: * * 1 / 2

               

Since there is a bankruptcy of ideas in Hollywood, there are remakes galore.  This time we have Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (1987) which is rehashed and to be fair they haven’t done a bad job but the question to be asked is, what was the need in the first place?

The original film, a futuristic tale science fiction tale had something new to offer, apart from better technology this one doesn’t have much.  However, from the perspective of updating the newer audience, the film does its job.

Michael Keaton plays the boss of a company that manufactures drones and robots that are used worldwide but not in America due to a certain legislation. He realizes the opportunity he is missing out on and tries harder to push his idea through, of having robots as police. An opportunity comes through when a cop Alex (Joel Kinnaman) gets seriously injured and can be resurrected only by giving him an artificial body with help from a scientist (Gary Oldman). They also make some necessary changes in his brain, turning him into a deadly Robocop.

In a slight departure from the original film, where the cop was trying discover to his past, here his family knows about him but is not allowed much communication. 

Action plays a central role in this film and it also mildly attempts to highlight the ethics of having robots, drones in used for security purposes. Samuel Jackson relishes his time on screen as a television host trying to sway public opinion in favor of the drone company.

Gary Oldman as the scientist is spot on but Michael Keaton looks a bit out of form. Robocop is a decent remake, better than some other remakes we have seen lately, but that's about it.

Published in The Navhind Times on 16th Feb 2014

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