So this is the perfect example of the trailer being FAR better than the actual movie. Boasting actors the likes of Samuel L. Jackson (explosive talk show host, Pat Novak), Gary Oldman (brilliant scientist Dr. Dennett Norton) and Michael Keaton (Raymond Sellars, head of conglomerate Omnicorp), you might think Robocop would have substance to it. So lets examine how it didnt have much.....at all. In a nutshell, skip ahead to 2028 Detroit where Alex J. Murphy, a good cop, does his best in the war on crime. Omnicorp is a multinational conglomerate whose battle drones are successful in winning American wars all over the world. Murphy is critically injured in the line of duty and Omnicorp recognizes their chance to cash in on placing an anthropomorphic robot police officer on the streets. Samuel L. Jackson played his role with gusto and was one of the only enjoyable things about this movie. Actual scene placement seemed to be a little disjointed, though. Otherwise, Jackson continues to show why hes still around after so many years. Joel Kinnaman, who plays the dual lead role of Officer Alex J. Murphy/Robocop is more or less decent at it. I feel like more focus was put on modernity than his actual character, though, ironically, thats what his role is. Alex Murphy is the tortured soul in a robo suit, with new abilities, struggling to grasp whats become of him. Its the philosophical dilemma of playing God, meshing man with machine and what consequences that might incur. I dont think Kinnaman was amazing but he wasnt horrible. I think Peter Weller played the part far better. Abbie Cornish, who plays Murphys wife, Clara, is, well...........Abbie Cornish. Shes the Kristen Stewart of emotional scenes. No matter what shes given, she cries the same, carries herself the same, but I will admit shes light years ahead of Stewart. Nothing special here. I attribute some of the blame to her being given the role of crying mother/wife for much of the movie. I just dont like Marianne Jean-Baptistes (chief Karen Dean) proclivity for overacting. A lot of the time she looks like shes rehearsing for a Broadway play in the way she delivers her lines. She annoys me and this was no different. Then theres Jackie Earle Haley. Most of you will know him as Rorschach in Watchmen and Freddie Kreuger in the abomination of a remake, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Haley plays Rick Mattox, the tactical expert who trains Robocop. Typical action military role done well I suppose. He fit the bill perfectly. Gary oldman kills it in his role as brilliant scientist, Dr. Dennett Morton with all his chops in fine form. I dont think Olman ever really disappoints me no matter whats thrown at him. Michael Keaton was pretty much the same. The soundtrack to this movie totally contributed to killing the vibe in pretty much all the action scenes. I kept getting that WTF moment every time a song would come on, immensely incongruent with what my eyes were seeing and that was a huge problem for me. And last but certainly not least, the suit and special effects. I absolutely loved the updated, sleek, black look, I really did. I just wish other aspects of the movie was even half as good. The special effects were done fairly well for the most part. At times the drones looked a little comical in their stacatto type movements. It almost looked like claymation at times. So at the end of it all, what it all boils down to is this - Robocop took way too long to get anywhere with very little in the way of payoff. I feel like when the movie got going the producers sacrificed quality for tech flash. I know at the heart of this its a futuristic action movie but come on, it doesnt have to be this crap. In the right hands this could have been one masterpiece of an action movie reboot. This sucked more than an anteater on crack. Veritable waste of time. Dare I compare it to Mortal Instruments? No, it was nowhere near THAT terrible but I say in no uncertain terms this movie belongs in the Delete bin. The 1987 original still holds up far better than this updated atrocity and I feel Ill have to watch that one again to get this taste out of my mouth. C- rating at best.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:22:00 +0000
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