RoboCop (2014)

I have never seen the original "RoboCop" and I feel that is useful because my opinion is fresh. I have nothing to compare this new film to. Growing up in the 80's and 90's though, I knew who RoboCop was. To be honest, I feel that this film is not worth the money to see it in the theaters. It had some good moments but mostly, it wasn't fun. It also wasn't cool as I was hoping because the film had a lot of strong themes.

At the start of the movie through "The Novak Element", we are introduced to a near-future world where the US is taking away freedom abroad instead of providing it. Alex Murphy becomes a tool of OmniCorp in the form of RoboCop to do the same thing domestically. Alex himself is also symbolic of OmniCorp's idea of freedom because the truth is that Alex's freedom is taken away from him and it is replaced by the illusion of freedom. He has no free will. There is also more symbolism that can be deduced from the guitar-playing amputee. He needs to play with feeling but Dr. Norton's technology cannot work perfectly when emotion interferes. Another theme that the film explores a little is the danger of technology. Novak promotes machines over man because they are incorruptible. What he fails to understand or doesn't mention is that the people who control machines can be corrupted. I am glad that we get to see Alex with his family before his accident but I was hoping for a little happier of a mood in that one scene. My favorite part of the film was the use of "If I Only Had a Heart". That was some great contrast. Throughout the show however, I kept asking myself "When is the movie going to get good?" The film's focus was too much on its themes to be truly entertaining. The film does get better when Alex's emotions begin to regain some control and he goes off to solve his own case. I felt that the climax however was only so-so.

Gary Oldman had the best performance in "RoboCop". His role was great while Michael Keaton's was not. Hugh Laurie, who was intended to play Sellars, would have been much better because Keaton was not able to create a worthy bad guy for RoboCop. I liked seeing Jay Baruchel in this movie. In terms of the crew, I would have liked to see this film in the hands of Darren Aronofsky. I am sad he dropped out. I also did not care for the musical score much. "RoboCop" lacked the fun that I imagine when I think about his 1980's counterpart. The thematic elements at play were good but ruined things for the most part.

3 Stars