MOVIE REVIEW: Robocop
Randburg reader Craig Steyn reviews the 2013 remake of Robocop, on behalf of the Randburg Sun and Ster-Kinekor Northgate.
GENRE: Action, sci-fi
RUNNING TIME: 118 minutes
STARRING: Joel Kinnaman (The Killing), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises), Michael Keaton (Batman)
DIRECTED BY: Jose Padilha (Elite Squad)
RATING: 4/10
Currently screening at Ster-Kinekor Northgate.
PLOT: When police officer Alex Murphy is critically injured, multinational conglomerate Omnicorp seizes the opportunity to create a new breed of law enforcement. Half man, half machine, all cop.
THE GOOD: Special effects of the film were outstanding using neat CGI, with a couple of good action scenes. The cast that was chosen, some new faces and some Hollywood stars, gave the film a nice mix.
THE BAD: The story was possibly a bit longwinded. The film could have had more punch, with way more action scenes. Focus was not on Robocop cleaning up the city, but more on his family and himself. The villains seemed to fade into the background as Murphy tries to fight his owns demons throughout the film. There was no industrialised feel to Detroit; the giant corporations never destroyed the city for their own gain. People were not left homeless and destitute having to fight these power houses for their civil rights. Detroit was not in ruins or over run by gangs.
VERDICT: Don’t expect to be blown away by action, but rather accept that you might be sucked into Alex Murphy’s own dramatic life. His focal point becomes investigating his own case, which gets in the way of what Robocop is intended to do. When the film starts running its course, you are left wondering who is the bad person, is it the powerful CEO of Onmicorp, or has Robocop blown a circuit. The reasoning for what goes on in the final parts of the film doesn’t make much sense. You will not get to see Detroit in its economically ravaged state, but rather a generic version of any other sci-fi city. It seems that Jose Padilha did not focus on what Robocop is about, but focused more on what he wanted Robocop to be about If you are a true Robocop fan, stick to the original films.
*Special thanks to Ster-Kinekor Northgate for making the review possible.
