tylerdurden
Super Freak
guess what, folks? i've watched the robocop remake. i saw it last wednesday at a special preview screening, but have been too busy to post til now. beware: spoilers to follow, though i've put the major ones inside tags...
right. i've seen a lot of negativity on this thread about the remake, some of it justified/understandable and a lot of it just uncalled for/premature. this is going to come as a major surprise to the haters, but the movie does NOT suck. in fact, it's actually pretty decent. you know how in pre-release interviews, the filmmakers keep talking about about the themes and underlying meaning of a film only for all that to be barely noticeable in the finished result? i hate that. yet here, they've put their money where their mouths are. i was caught off-guard by how introspective and philosophically-minded this movie is. it raises themes of free will, identity, control, and what makes a human being, human. now it is certainly not a deep, profound thought piece but it does give those issues a real airing. there is one scene that really hammers home murphy's existential dilemma in a disturbing and dare i say it --- emotional --- way. this is to me the film's most powerful scene, and it puts the ungloved hand (that i hated) in a completely new context. i'll put it in spoilers:
that scene is so well-played by joel kinnaman. although peter weller will always be the definitive robocop/murphy, kinnaman does surprisingly well and i'd say the main reason i liked the film is because i felt for him. they spend just enough time developing his character and kinnaman makes some interesting choices here in portraying both the human and robot sides. the rest of the principal cast is mostly excellent and it is their performances that elevate the material even in its weaker moments (of which there are a fair bit). gary oldman brings weight to his scientist character, and he has sort of a father figure/frankenstein relationship with murphy that is somewhat new to the robocop mythos. samuel l. jackson gets a bit melodramatic but i think that was intentional, as he's playing a tv show host whose spin on the truth is funny and a piss-take of the modern media. he even gets to say motherf--er (though bleeped out). lol. my favourite though is michael keaton, who is very entertaining as the maverick omnicorp ceo.
loved his performance here, but it is a double-edged sword as the way his character is handled leads to the film's biggest --- and to me near-fatal --- flaw. there is no clear villain in this film. actually, there are a number of so-called baddies, but none of them even remotely make any kind of impression. they're just plot devices for murphy's journey. and then at the end, they throw in a call-back to the original by making the omnicorp big-wig the main antagonist. this shouldn't be a major surprise for anyone who's watched enough of the trailers and featurettes. but it sure wasn't properly handled by the filmmakers. it feels like a major disconnect as to why murphy would have a beef with keaton's ceo. they explain it, but it just feels underdeveloped and unsatisfying. the weird thing is, i get the impression they didn't want to repeat the original's plot points beat for beat which is fine, but in avoiding the clean narrative through-line that verhoeven's version had, this one suffers greatly.
and the other major weakness of the film is unmemorable action. frankly, i could not name you a single kicka$$ action moment in this film. don't get me wrong, the action is okay but doesn't come close to the many fist-pumping moments of the original. director jose padilha tries some gimmicky visuals with some of the action, like lighting the gunfights in pitch darkness using only muzzle flares, and a video game-style 1st person perspective. but they just lack impact.
btw, fans of basil pouledouris' robocop theme music will be happy to note that it pops up on more than one occasion here. all in all, the stronger aspects of this movie are enough to offset its weaknesses. i was/am a huge fan of the original and i was ready to rip this a new one but i came away surprised by the genuine effort put into this to make it a worthwhile addition to the robocop canon. i have no doubt the studio means for this to make money but it also doesn't seem like just another soulless cash-grab. the filmmakers actually have something of their own to say. and that makes it more than alright in my book. hope this impromptu review helps some of you allay your fears over this movie. flaws and all, the robocop remake is definitely watchable.
right. i've seen a lot of negativity on this thread about the remake, some of it justified/understandable and a lot of it just uncalled for/premature. this is going to come as a major surprise to the haters, but the movie does NOT suck. in fact, it's actually pretty decent. you know how in pre-release interviews, the filmmakers keep talking about about the themes and underlying meaning of a film only for all that to be barely noticeable in the finished result? i hate that. yet here, they've put their money where their mouths are. i was caught off-guard by how introspective and philosophically-minded this movie is. it raises themes of free will, identity, control, and what makes a human being, human. now it is certainly not a deep, profound thought piece but it does give those issues a real airing. there is one scene that really hammers home murphy's existential dilemma in a disturbing and dare i say it --- emotional --- way. this is to me the film's most powerful scene, and it puts the ungloved hand (that i hated) in a completely new context. i'll put it in spoilers:
murphy, having been revived after the bombing, thinks he is a man in a suit. but dr. norton (oldman) shows him the true extent of what they did to him... and it is horrifying. bit by bit, they detach his robotic parts, until all that is left is his head, spinal column, a few basic internal organs and his right hand. but even his hand is just an illusion. it is pretty much a meat glove, slipped over a metal armature. murphy is left in tears, saying: "oh my god. there's nothing left!"
that scene is so well-played by joel kinnaman. although peter weller will always be the definitive robocop/murphy, kinnaman does surprisingly well and i'd say the main reason i liked the film is because i felt for him. they spend just enough time developing his character and kinnaman makes some interesting choices here in portraying both the human and robot sides. the rest of the principal cast is mostly excellent and it is their performances that elevate the material even in its weaker moments (of which there are a fair bit). gary oldman brings weight to his scientist character, and he has sort of a father figure/frankenstein relationship with murphy that is somewhat new to the robocop mythos. samuel l. jackson gets a bit melodramatic but i think that was intentional, as he's playing a tv show host whose spin on the truth is funny and a piss-take of the modern media. he even gets to say motherf--er (though bleeped out). lol. my favourite though is michael keaton, who is very entertaining as the maverick omnicorp ceo.
loved his performance here, but it is a double-edged sword as the way his character is handled leads to the film's biggest --- and to me near-fatal --- flaw. there is no clear villain in this film. actually, there are a number of so-called baddies, but none of them even remotely make any kind of impression. they're just plot devices for murphy's journey. and then at the end, they throw in a call-back to the original by making the omnicorp big-wig the main antagonist. this shouldn't be a major surprise for anyone who's watched enough of the trailers and featurettes. but it sure wasn't properly handled by the filmmakers. it feels like a major disconnect as to why murphy would have a beef with keaton's ceo. they explain it, but it just feels underdeveloped and unsatisfying. the weird thing is, i get the impression they didn't want to repeat the original's plot points beat for beat which is fine, but in avoiding the clean narrative through-line that verhoeven's version had, this one suffers greatly.
and the other major weakness of the film is unmemorable action. frankly, i could not name you a single kicka$$ action moment in this film. don't get me wrong, the action is okay but doesn't come close to the many fist-pumping moments of the original. director jose padilha tries some gimmicky visuals with some of the action, like lighting the gunfights in pitch darkness using only muzzle flares, and a video game-style 1st person perspective. but they just lack impact.
btw, fans of basil pouledouris' robocop theme music will be happy to note that it pops up on more than one occasion here. all in all, the stronger aspects of this movie are enough to offset its weaknesses. i was/am a huge fan of the original and i was ready to rip this a new one but i came away surprised by the genuine effort put into this to make it a worthwhile addition to the robocop canon. i have no doubt the studio means for this to make money but it also doesn't seem like just another soulless cash-grab. the filmmakers actually have something of their own to say. and that makes it more than alright in my book. hope this impromptu review helps some of you allay your fears over this movie. flaws and all, the robocop remake is definitely watchable.
