Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…
“RoboCop (2014)” 6 out of 10 – Directed by Jose Padilha; Written by Joshua Zetumer, Edward Neumeier, and Michael Miner; Starring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Micheal Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael Kenneth Williams, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jay Baruchel; Rated PG-13.
“RoboCop” is a modernized remake of the 1987 film of the same name. The movie centers around detective Alex Murphy who is the victim of an attempted murder when investigating police corruption within his own department.
Omnicorp, a robotics company helmed by Raymond Sellars (Keaton) is using their high-tech robots to police the streets of developing nations and sees an opportunity in Murphy’s tragedy to convince the American people to allow their robotic force to roam the streets here at home.
Dr. Dennett Norton (Oldman), a scientist working for Omnicorp, uses his formidable technology to rebuild Murphy, to make him better, faster, stronger, and save him from being blown to smithereens.
By the time Norton is done, Murphy is nothing more than a head with lungs and heart descending and encased in glass and a hand attached by a metal skeleton. The rest of his being is made up entirely of robotic replacement parts. While this scene provides one of the coolest moments in the film, it is at odds with previous hospital shots that showed Murphy mostly intact, aside from a missing hand, lower leg, and damage to one of his eyes. It begs the question, what happened between the hospital and the robotic awakening? It feels as though Murphy was stripped down to the bare essentials purely in order to provide a cool visual.
“RoboCop” also suffers from being over the top at times. A man improved by bleeding edge technology is cool enough; it doesn’t need to be enhanced with actions that seem unrealistic even for the apparent technology. POV shots of Murphy’s RoboCop provided another of the movie’s highlights, each time he calculated the geometry of his movements in advance and then executed them my heart skipped a beat.
As Murphy explores his new skin, Sellars and Omnicorp manipulate him to their ends threatening not only his wellbeing but that of the entire nation. With the help of Dr. Norton and his obvious badassness Murphy is able to take down the evil corporation and finally reunite with his family.
This movie has so much going for it but continued to miss the mark just slightly or get a little too big for its tin britches. Though most of its failings can be forgiven by virtue awesome robot battles and the who’s who list of pop culture favorites including Sam Jackson as America’s futuristic Rush Limbaugh, Gary Oldman who can never do any wrong, Michael Keaton playing the charming villain, Jackie Earle Haley playing the face-punchable villain, and Jay Baruchel playing the skinny loveable scamp who looks sixteen years old even with a beard. Not to mention Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) who plays the hardened street smart detective with ease.
I only wish that “RoboCop” had realized what it had in its hands and found its potential rather than relying on gimmicks and name recognition to carry it. Those two things can take you far and can make for worthwhile weekend Netflix viewing, but they do not a good movie make.
“RoboCop” earns six stars out of ten because are some excellent visuals and a couple good performances. It isn’t terrible, but it isn’t great. In the end, it’s just forgettable, and considering what they had in the way of acting and technological resources, that’s kind of sad.