Anyway, this was one of the few films I was interested in watching. I wouldn't really say I was keen on it but I was interested to see what the reboot would do for Robocop, especially since the original was one of the more memorable films of my childhood. Then I started seeing all the promo pics and the released pics that show him in black...
Okay, if you don't know the basic premise of RoboCop, you probably were born sometime after the 80s. Anyway, cop gets killed, becomes cyborg and goes on to tackle crime in the streets of Detroit. Which is funny cause Detroit would never be able to afford this now.
Basic differences between the original and this? Well, the new film goes a lot more indepth into Murphys personal life. In the original, you didn't even know Murphy was married until much later in the film where he goes and visits his wife and child only to find out they moved away because they thought he was dead. In the new film, his wife and child know he's Robocop. Heck, his wife even signed him up for the program, believing it was the only way to save him.
Things I hated in the new film. Samuel L Jacksons character. Seriously, I did not see a need for him at all. Granted, he delivers a pretty decent performance but it basically felt like his role was redundant. The slow start was another thing that grated on my nerves. Just felt like there was a lot more talking in this film where they show the transition period of the Omnicorp executives trying to pump Murphy up to become this Super Robot Cop. It basically involves them just watching him do something then rewiring him. This would be more interesting if there was actually any character development or conflict during this period but there really isn't. Also, what's with the hand being preserved? It doesn't even connect to any part of him and there really wasn't any reason mentioned in the film for why they preserved it.
Things I liked. Micheal Keaton. Which is unbelievable because the last film I liked him in was...Batman? But hey, he pulls off his role very well as the glib CEO. You honestly believe he's doing everything for the good of everyone when he delivers his lines. This is what I call a devils advocate. It's amazing how glib he is. Still, I can't believe he got killed so easily in the end.
Things I thought could be improved? The fight scenes. The issue is that RoboCop is this super cop with robot reflexes and agility but all he does is fight in a very static way that just revolves around him taking hits/bullets while shooting back and depending on his armor to prevent the damage. This is somewhat boring since at the very beginning, you see RoboCop is pretty agile when he jumps over this huge fence and I was just expecting more jumping around and shit when he's fighting. Especially when he's facing his initiation test and has to defeat huge groups of robots.
The whole 'is he human or is he not human' subplot/theme could really have been explored more. It just felt like it was broached but not really explored in any deep manner. I would have liked to see more background reports/info where protestors are protesting on news about how RoboCop is or isn't human or what his legal status is etc. Instead, this was barely even touched upon. Then there's the scene where his wife is pleading with him to go see his son and he sort of breaks through the emotional brainwashing they did on him and realises his son is upset and miserable and lonely due to the recent turn of events. He ends up going to his house....and then deciding to go investigate his own murder instead of comforting his son. Really? WTF Alex Murphy, would it have killed you to go in for TEN seconds and comfort your child? Great set of priorities there dad -_-
Then there was the scene where he faces down and kills his murderer. In the original, it was a lot more climatic than what happened in this film. Which makes sense as they moved the climax to the fight at Omnicorp instead, but still, this IS the person who killed Alex Murphy. It just felt like there should have been a bigger or more impressive battle.
Overall, as I said, it's an okay film but I still prefer the original.
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