RoboCop

RoboCop

Rated PG-13 and Released 2/14/14 in Grand Rapids

Reviewed 2/18/14 at Celebration North in Grand Rapids, MI

with Gary and Aaron

2 out of 5 Js in QUIET Rating System

The remake of the 1987 RoboCop action film really lacks action. While this is disappointing, it is certainly an improvement in the action and special effects over the original. Not to worry, this story is all set up for the sequel which I predict will be much better. We all agreed - we liked it, glad we saw it, but surely not blown away.

In 2028, the stellar veteran Detroit cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is critically injured while on the job. It's very troubling to see what is left of Alex when they show the grotesque head planted on a few organs. Enter sleazy Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) who runs OmniCorp (company that manufactures robots), and his goal is to plant robots in every U.S. city. His claims to make cities safer, as if he has everyone's best interests, are at the forefront. We soon learn that big money is behind the motives. No surprise. Flashes of Pat Novak (Samuel Jackson) doing infomercials on the behalf of the drone-like systems that OmniCorp has planted all over the world, excluding the U.S., have clear intentions. It is a crafted marketing campaign. Putting Alex in the robot suit controlled by Raymond Sellars' scientists so Americans will want robots to police their cities is his goal. If the public wants half man/half robot, then Sellars and OmniCorp will give them that. Reluctant at times, Dr. Norton (Gary Oldman), the scientist behind the latest OmniCorp creation, has heightened Alex's intelligence and squelched his emotions so he can only systematically fight crime. This is not how his wife Clara Murphy (Abbie Cornish) remembers him and she is sure they have messed with him. I think it doesn't make much difference; Joel Kinnaman seems right at home playing emotionless. There is a lot of build up in the story to get to this point and it gets exciting for a time. But as fast as it winds up, it winds back down. If you are considering RoboCop for the theatre, even the IMAX doesn't really give it enough oomph for a trip. This is definitely a renter.

QUIET Rating system: 2 Js

Quality: JJj

Understood story:  JJ

Interest: JJ

Entertainment:  JJ

Time:  JJ