RoboCop

As we see each generation come to pass, we will see movies remade so they can enjoy them on the large screen as well. The problem with this is: a certain percentage of these people actually believe they are watching an original film. Heaven knows we've seen a plethora of remakes, i.e. "Planet of the Apes", "The Heartbreak Kid", "Alfie", "The Italian Job", etc. Well, we have yet another remake to add to that never ending list in the form of "RoboCop".

The year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years-- and it's meant billions for OmniCorp's bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. You see, a majority of Americans want the drones in this country more human-like with an ability to 'feel' as Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson) of the Novak Experiment, a TV show, says.
Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman)-- a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit-- is critically injured in the line of duty. Those at OmniCorp, namely Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) and Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldham) see their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice.

Others to round out the cast are Abbie Cornish as Clara Murphy, Alex's wife, Jackie Earle Haley as Rick Mattox, Michael K. Williams as Jack Lewis, Alex's cop partner, Jennifer Ehle as Liz Kline, Jay Baruchel as Tom Pope, the marketing guy, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Chief Karen Dean, Aimee Garcia as Jae Kim, Dr. Norton's assistant, Douglas Urbanski as Mayor Durant, John Paul Ruttan as David Murphy, Alex's son, Patrick Garrow as Antoine Vallon, K.C. Collins as Andre Daniels, Daniel Kash as John Lake, and Zach Grenier as Senator Hubert Dreyfuss.

This was adequately directed by Jose Padilha ("Bus 174" (Documentary) '02, "Brazil's Vanishing Cowboys" (TV movie Documentary) '03, "Elite Squad" '07, "Garapa"  (Documentary) '09, "Secrets of the Tribe" (Documentary) '10, "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" '10). By his very resume, especially the documentaries, this guy knows intensity which he definitely needed in this film to make it work. It was written by Joshua Zetumer based on the 1987 screenplay by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The biggest difference between this and the '87 original is the obvious: the visual effects. Such as in this, they show the audience what is actually left of 'him' after the fire Murphy was in and it's fairly graphic, but with the much improved computer graphics ability as opposed to 1987, there is a vast difference, and it is stunning. Whether this is the open door to a franchise, only the box office will be able to tell us for sure.

If you liked the 1987 version, you'll like this. It holds fairly true to its predecessor. But even if you're not, the visuals and underlying message should be enough to hold you for the 100 minute running time.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                      Rated: PG-13                      100mins.