What's The Bottom Line with the remake of Robocop

RoboCop (2014)

Starring Joel Kinnaman (The Killing and Safe House), Gary Oldham (The Dark Knight Rises and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Michael Keaton (Batman and Beetlejuice) 

First Impressions Before Seeing The Film?

When I first heard they were making a remake of one of my favourite films I was sceptical and also excited. This is because Peter Weller who was the Robocop in the movies played Robocop e.g. Detective Murphy perfectly. So, for Joel Kinnaman he has a huge boot to fill, well robotic boot to fill. But, I think it's time to do a reboot for Robocop, we are in 2014 and the fact special effects have elevated from 1987 which is when the first Robocop film came out am excited to see what there is. Although, when I first saw the suit design for Robocop I was like "Hmmm this could work." and when watching the trailer this Robocop is more flexible then the older one which makes sense. This Robocop is set in 2028, so technology, robotics has been advanced so flexibility has improved. But, people might forget the old Robocop was an 18 rating, and this is a 12A rating so I was wondering if there were going to be more strict violence, explosions, or something more straight forward with the same action pack for all age ranges. But, Director Jose Padilha and actor Joel Kinnaman fought hard for an R rating, but due to the ever expanding budget, which went from a modest $60 million budget and ballooned to a $120 million budget, studio executives were forced to deliver a PG-13 rating in hopes to recoup the budget they had spent on the film. Throughout the course of filming, the studio executives kept a close eye on Padilha, making sure he was going to deliver a PG-13 rating. All I can say to that is THANKS DIRECTORS! Grrrrr. But, I can imagine they have to do Robocop at a different angle as well, we have had loads of movies of Robocop. You have Robocop 1,2 and 3. And, then you have Robocop with his partner changed into another mechanical law enforcement. But, I think the most interesting is that the director Jose Padilha has only directed 10 things in his whole life....makes you think of what does he bring to the table. 

After I Watched The Film?

It's refreshing. It's new. It's RoboCop and it's not Robocop. I didn't notice but the name of the film is RoboCop and in the old version it's Robocop. Just to keep that brand name but to clearly say "Let's show you what we did to you're favourite future law enforcement. The special effects are literally stunning, I can't flaw the action, the gun fighting, the special effects you can tell they worked hard on what they had with a huge budget. Plus, I felt like I was watching the old Robocops but it's the next Robocop. I was expecting, the old Robocop to come down and retire and this new guy comes in. But, nope. I was really happy with all the actors not just the key ones I mentioned, I love Jackie Earle Haley who's character believes in soldiers not robots. But, Samuel L. Jackson was hilarious! He was perfect and the wife of Robocop, which in the films you never really see. In this film, it's early that the son sees his dad being this hero and you have that moment. That's the biggest difference, we always knew that Robocop is a family man deep down, and this film brings out more personality than robot of Robocop with the scenes we see. Jennifer Ehle as well who plays the wife brings so much to the table, you have the logical wife that how would that person react. The writers did a huge challenge doing this remake and personally they exceeded the expectations that I had. 

Does It Do Justice To The Old Robocop?

I don't think Peter Weller would put on the suit, go down there and say "Dead or alive you're coming with me". I think Peter Weller would be proud of what accomplishment this film has made, we see the suit for what it stands for law enforcement, and being there for the community. Now, did it do justice to the old Robocop? You have to remember the time line, what has happened with filming, now we can practically do anything with special effects and I think that didn't make the justice. But, the man in the suit Joel Kinnaman played Alex Murphy perfectly. The facial expressions at times were blank which is what Peter Weller did in his performance of Robocop. You have to remember he is more machine, but the brain makes him human. And, plus with other actors like Jay Baruchel and Michael Kenneth Williams, brings this film to another level. Yes, we have the main stars like Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldham and Michael Keaton BUT we need to see the other cast members not relevant to the corporate operations called 'OmniCorp' or as we know it seeing the older versions "OCP". I think this goes beyond justice, this film has given RoboCop a new pun of what the franchise stands for and upgraded the story of Alex Murphy. 

Tips If Watching The Film?

1. I have actually been asked to do tips, because people found the facts about the film or advice interesting. So, let's get the ball rolling with did you know Michael Fassbender, Matthias Schoenaerts and Russell Crowe turned down the role to play Robocop, now when watching this film try and picture that.
2. Edward Norton turned down the role to play Doctor Norton whom is played by Gary Oldham, which to me Gary Oldham exceeds expectations, and the age of the doctor works, Edward Norton wouldn't.
3. If you've watched the old Robocop this will make you happy, Basil Poledouris, who wrote the score for the original Robocop and Robocop 3, theme can be heard at the very beginning briefly while the 'RoboCop' title credits is shown. 
4. Jackie Eale Haley as Rick Mattox at one point says "I wouldn't buy that for a dollar!"...Rings a bell? This was reworked from the original film, to show some respect to the old Robocop in 1987.
5. Let's go back to Jose Padilha, this is actually his first Hollywood film to be made. 
6. Naaaaa Naaa Naaa Naaaa BATMAN! Wait....What does Batman have to do with this? WELL, Michael Keaton played Batman/Bruce Wayne in the Batman and Batman Returns whilst Gary Oldham who plays Doctor Norton in Robocop, he is Commissar Gordon in the recent Batman trilogies. 
7. One name that I forgot, Chris Pine who we all know from Star Trek was considered the role for Alex Murphy/Robocop.
8. One epic tip is to watch Samuel L. Jackson's character, they are serious and hilarious at the same time.
9. REALLY watch Robocop in general, and if you seen the old versions see why they should of gone with this version then the more heavier suited armour. 
10. I think if you want to see this film for special effects, I would just relax and enjoy the film because there is a ton of special effects. 

My Rankings

This is actually quite a hard decision, because seeing the old Robocop I know what am kinda expecting considering this is the first and maybe more releases to the film. Robocop to me, shows that it's not all special effects because in some parts we actually see brilliant works of drama from these actors. So, that being said am giving this a solid 8 out of 10. It's highly recommended to watch, and am not saying that because am a fan of the old films. Am saying watch it, because it's a reboot of the old franchise which was a hit when it came out. It's not all guns blazing and cop killing, there's actually layers of what makes Robocop tick which makes us all wonder. 

So, What's The Bottom Line?

Dead or Alive you'r coming with me. I think that is one of many one liners you want to hear in Robocop, well am not going to stop you but Alex Murphy might. His friends call him Murphy, but you can call him.....RoboCop and that's the bottom line. 

Here is the trailer:

Here is the IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234721/

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