ROBOCOP  2.8***

 

I went to Robocop (mainly because it was at the Raleigh I-Max) expecting disappointment, but in spite of being at odds with it at the start I found myself caught up in what turned out to be an engaging story.  I liked this film almost as much as the original (1987 with sequels). From the director on down to the actors you can tell they cared about this movie and gave their best. The film aims pretty high and for the most part succeeds.

 

 

Alex Murphy, damaged in an explosion to the point of death, is the ideal candidate for a new initiative to join human sensibilities to computerized and robotic law enforcement hardware. In other words, Murphy still has his mind and emotions to guide his actions. Thus the movie is more of a re-imagining of the original story, rather than a simple remake of basically the same script. Here the focus is on the emotional and psychological stakes as much as on the physical stakes for our lead character. There is more time taken to build a  character that still lives and breathes, which in turn makes for a better-rounded film. The effects of Murphy's transformation on both himself and his wife and son  make for an interesting and less straight forward action flick.

The actors do well their  in their respective rolls.. I liked Joel Kinnaman (who I have only seen in a TV cop show)) as Alex Murphy. He brought a human gravity to the character that works.. Gary Oldman is my personal favorite as a conflicted Dr. Frankenstein type who turns out to be the  heart of the movie.
 Michael Keeton plays with relish  the slimy CEO of Omnicorp Raymond Sellars who will do anything to succeed with his robot worldwide business. Lastly, Samuel Jackson as the Bill-O'Reilly-type far right conservative TV host, Pat Novak, is an ultra-hawkish saber rattler, so much so that you can’t help but chuckle.

This is an honest and loyal remake that will appeal to most action movie fans including the loyal fans of the 1987 Robocop who fell in love with the story precisely for the moralistic themes the remake explores.

The rating is PG-13. . there is plenty of action but the violence is not  sadistic or gory and there is no profanity (imagine that!).

Clark